A Fable Of Firsts
by Vance McGill
Summary: A Collection of the first chapters of intended stories I have written over the years that have never kicked off into multiple chapters. Mostly Harry/Hermione or Harry/Harem. Many stories have Severe Character Bashing, including Dumbledore, Weasleys, and others
1. Once Upon A Time (HPOUAT Crossover)

**A FABLE OF FIRSTS**

 **Summary: A Collection of the first chapters of intended stories I have written over the years that have never kicked off into multiple chapters. Mostly Harry/Hermione or Harry/Harem. Many stories have Severe Character Bashing, including Dumbledore, Weasleys, and others, as well as cliches, such as Betrothals, Time Travel, Betrayals, Helpful Goblins, and so on.** **  
**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement  
intended.**

 **Author's Note: I have several of these "First Chapters" that never grew into bigger stories. I've been debating posting these for a while now. Today is my birthday, and I thought there was no better time than now.**

* * *

 **Title: Once Upon A Time (A Harry Potter/Once Upon A Time Crossover**

 **Summary: Emma Swan is sitting in her apartment, when there is a knock on the door. She opens it, and finds a young boy who looks very similar to a famous book and movie character. Why is he calling her "Mom"? That is only the start of her adventure.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings: Crossover, Time Travel/Dimension Travel, Alternate Universe, Manipulative!Dumbledore, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys, others**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione**

 **Author's Note: This is a Once Upon A Time crossover with Harry Potter. However. Right now, Emma Swan is the only character from that show… and she's not exactly Emma Swan. Okay, she is… sorta… but… well, you'll discover that soon (if the summary hasn't already given it away). Don't worry… I am basing Emma Swan on Emma Swan from the show… early on she'll be the first-season "I don't want to believe in this" Emma Swan.**

 **In this universe, Harry Potter exists in the books and movies, but the wizarding world exists too, and Harry Potter is a person, along with every other character in the books. If – at some point - I do decide to add more Once Upon A Time in the future, then Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest will exist in this universe too. Henry likely won't exist in this universe though. Sorry.**

 **Also, and this is very important: this story takes place in the present, not in the nineties. It is explained in this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **Mom?**

 **Tuesday, January 30th, 2018**

A blonde-haired woman was sitting alone at the kitchen table of her Boston, Massachussets apartment, staring at a cupcake with a lone candle on top of it. Her name was Emma Swan, and today was her thirty-first birthday.

She was a private investigator. This job wasn't what she always wanted to do with her life. It just came to her one day, resultant from an event that took place over nine and a half years ago.

Nine and a half years ago, she woke up in a hospital in London, England after being in a week long coma, with no identity, and no memory of her former life. She was found with a ring on her finger, and when she awoke, the nurse had told her she was possibly a mother, showing signs of having given birth sometime in the past year, to year and a half. But that wasn't the strangest part.

The strangest part was that nobody could find out who had brought her into the hospital, nor where she had been picked up from.

After she got out of the hospital after two more weeks, she tried looking for her husband or her child, but it was a rather impossible mission. She did not know her true identity, nor the identity of her husband or child. Because she did not know where she had lived, nor where she had been picked up from when she was taken to the hospital, any connections to such an area where her husband and child might have been – if they had been in the same area with her – would have been impossible to discover.

Since she didn't even know her name, and didn't want to be a "Jane Doe", she decided to legally get a new name. So she did so. She became Emma Swan – she got the name one evening when she was in a hotel room. It was the night she had gotten out of the hospital. She was watching the movie "Sense and Sensibility" on the television. She decided her first name would be the same as one of the main actresses, Emma Thompson. Swan came from a commercial she had seen during the movie that had swans in it.

Emma Swan was born. She had also changed her looks. Originally, she had long auburn hair and emerald eyes. But that was the old her, whom she didn't know. So she cut her hair, changed it to blonde, and bought hazel contacts. She didn't know why she chose the color hazel. Perhaps the idea had come from a dream she used to have of a dark-haired man with hazel eyes and a wonderful smile. Her mystery husband… perhaps?

After six months of a failed investigation, and a night of much alcohol binging, she decided she needed to start a new life. No, she did not give up the investigation. It had always been in the back of her mind. That was why she wanted to become a private investigator. So that she could legally continue the investigation.

But London, England held too many bad memories for her, and she wanted to get away. Far, far away.

So she moved to Boston, and soon enough became a Private Investigator. She was very, very good at her job. She made a good amount of money doing the job. So much that she could buy a fancy house if she wanted. But the apartment she lived in had an appeal of its own.

But she wanted more. So she closed her eyes and made a wish. Like every other year she did this, for the past nine years, and made the very same wish, she felt dumb for doing so. Because it never came true. Her wish?

 _I wish this was the year my most important investigation was solved. Who Am I? Do I have a son and husband out there? Is this why my life feels so empty, even though my life has been nice for the past few years? I wish…_

She opened her eyes.

"Happy birthday to me," she muttered to nobody but herself, and the emptiness of her apartment.

She blew out the candle, then sighed and picked up the cupcake. Chocolate and cinnamon, her favorite. She was about to take a bite into the cupcake when she heard a knock on her front door. She narrowed her eyes in the direction of the door, and set the cupcake down.

"If it is that annoying old lady looking for her dog for the third time, I am going to scream," Emma said. "Her dog is dead, like I told her the first time!"

Emma sighed, stood up and walked over to the front door of her apartment. She closed her eyes, counted down from five, inhaled and exhaled, then opened the door. It was not an old lady. It was a young boy.

A young boy with messy brown hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and the prettiest emerald eyes she had ever seen.

 _In fact they look like mine do without contacts – no, no Emma, do not do that to yourself!_

Emma inhaled and exhaled and looked at the boy. He seemed familiar for some reason, but she couldn't point out why.

"Uh… can I help you?" Emma asked.

"Are you Emma Swan?" the boy asked.

"Uh, yeah," Emma said, "Are you here for my services? Because this is my home, not my office. And I am not working today, so…"

Emma shook herself. This was a kid. Perhaps he was just lost, and needed help.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name's Harry," the boy said, "I'm your son."

Emma stared at the kid. This had to be a joke. This kid did seem familiar to her. Maybe this was one of her friend's kids, and she didn't recognize him. His parents – one of her friends – were playing a birthday joke on her. She closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled. When she opened them, the boy had somehow gotten past her and was now walking into _her apartment._

"Whoa!" Emma said, "Kid… kid… kid!"

She hurried and followed after him.

"I don't have a son," she said.

 _Well, I did, I suppose. But from what I can tell – and I don't even know if he's a he – he's probably…_

She did not even think that word. She didn't want to think that word. Because it would mean it was true.

"Where are your parents?" Emma asked. "Are your parents Joe and Stacy? Is this a birthday joke from Stacy, because it is very inappropriate!"

Harry turned and looked at Emma.

"Nine and a half years ago, did you lose a baby?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't say lost," Emma muttered. "Kid, that is a very sensitive topic I really don't want to discuss –"

"You were in a coma, right?" Harry asked, "Nine and a half years ago? When you woke up, you had no memory of who you were, or where you came from. But if you were in a competent hospital, they must have discovered you had a baby at some point."

Emma stared at the boy. "How do you know that? Nobody here knows –"

She froze. The kid's _accent!_ It was not Bostonian, or anywhere near American. It was one of the British accents.

"The baby was me," Harry said.

Emma sighed. "Look Harry – er… what is your last name?"

"Potter," Harry said.

Emma paused and stared at the boy. "Potter. Harry Potter? Okay, now I know this is a prank. Good job kid, you're really talented. The British accent, the glasses –"

"The Scar?" Harry asked, in a deadpan tone.

He put a finger up to his forehead, and moved his bangs apart. There was in fact a scar, shaped like a lightning bolt, that was either _really good make-up…_ or it was real.

"Okay, who are you really, kid?" Emma asked. "Because it seems someone went a long way to make this prank of theirs quite elaborate, to a point of maiming you! That is criminal behavior!"

"Do you own the Harry Potter series?" Harry asked. "Books or movies?"

"Who doesn't?" Emma said. "I read the book series at least once a year. And the movies, I watch them occasionally."

"Occasionally?" Harry echoed, with a smile.

"Okay, so when the movies are on the television, and there is nothing else on," Emma said, "I usually watch them."

Why was he asking her this? Why was she telling him this?

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Excuse me?" Emma asked.

"Why do you watch them instead of something else?" Harry asked. "You're a grown woman in your thirties. I assume you live alone… certainly looks like it. Why do you watch them every time they are on? Do you know?"

"I – they're good movies!" Emma said, "The book series is great!"

"You feel connected to them in a special way," Harry said.

"So do a lot of people!" Emma exclaimed, "What are you getting at?"

Harry sighed and looked around the room. He walked over to a bookshelf and rummaged through it. Then he found a book, and Emma realized it was the first Harry Potter book. He walked over to her and held the front up to her, just below his chin.

"See any resemblance?" Harry asked.

"Okay, so that is why you look familiar," Emma said, "You resemble a book character. Good job. Or I should say good job to whoever hired you, because they picked a great actor for it!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I am not an actor. I am Harry Potter. This is me. And you are my mother, Lily Potter."

"Okay, first of all, I doubt you have ever even read the series, kid," Emma said, "Lily Potter is dead."

"In the story she is, yes," Harry said. "I am so glad that didn't happen in real life."

"Real life?" Emma asked. "You're – great, I'm dealing with a delusional kid."

"I can prove it to you," Harry said, "We can go to London, and I can show you the wizarding world."

"First of all, if Harry Potter was real, he'd be older than me," Emma said, "He was born in 1980. In fact the Epilogue in the last book took place recently if it was real life!"

"JK Rowling is a witch who can see the future," Harry said, "She based the books in the nineties, because that is when she started writing them. She also put enchantments on the books, so the real life versions of the characters could not read the books."

"Aha, I caught you on a lie!" Emma exclaimed, "How do you know about the book?"

Harry smirked. "How can Harry Potter who is my age know about the wizarding world? I'm not even eleven yet."

Emma stared at Harry, who smiled. Okay, that was a really good question she could not answer.

"You're curious now, aren't you?" he asked, "You seem to have forgotten your cupcake. Eat it before it goes stale, and I'll tell you my story while you do so."

"I am going to listen to your story, for one reason," Emma said, "because after it is all said and done, I'll have all the answers I need to begin an investigation about who you really are, and who hired you to do this!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Or you'll realize I am being honest and help me. You are, after all, a Private Investigator, and this is right up your alley. If you won't believe I am your son, you'll help me because it is your job."

"Help you with what?" Emma asked.

"That comes soon, don't worry," Harry said, "Enjoy your cupcake. Happy Birthday, Mum."

"I am not your mother," Emma muttered as she walked over to the kitchen table.

"You only say that because you've given up hope that the son you've been looking for is really alive," Harry said. "Believe me… right now, I'm this close to pinching myself because up until recently, I too thought my mother was dead."

Emma said nothing as she sat down at the table. Harry sat down in a neighboring chair.

"Why do you have more than one chair if you are the only one who lives here?" Harry asked.

"I have friends," Emma said, "I'm not a loner."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Harry asked.

"You were telling me a story," Emma muttered.

"I am not the Harry Potter of this world," Harry said, "Well, alright I am. Technically. But, technically, I came from an alternate universe, where the Harry Potter books and movies did not exist, but Harry Potter and the events in the books happened. Except… there was more happening than JK Rowling wanted to tell you. She wanted to write a fun story that was mostly for kids, but got darker as the sequels progressed. Some of the things that really happened were not in the books and movies. I'll explain this at a later date."

"Not today?" Emma asked.

"It would take me several days, maybe months, to explain everything," Harry said, "I'll tell you some details now, details that I believe will make you want to help me."

"Don't count on it, kid," Emma muttered.

"In my universe, my mother – you – really did die," Harry said, "That is one of the major differences. I could not believe you were alive, when I first discovered what happened to you. The only reason I believe you are alive, is because you are destined to help me."

Emma raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"So, since you're so familiar with the books, you know most of the details of the books, I assume," Harry said.

"I'm pretty familiar with the story, kid," Emma said. "Though I have to admit, there were a lot of flaws and plot holes."

Harry smiled. "Of course there are flaws and plot holes. Those are the important parts you need to remember. You see, the flaws and plot holes exist, because they have to do with things that JK Rowling didn't want to put in her books, things that actually happened. Name a plot hole, the first that comes to your mind. Name several, if you wish. But only from the first book. We'll start chronologically."

"Rubeus Hagrid was not a Professor during the first book," Emma said, "He never should have escorted Harry Potter to Diagon Alley. It should have been someone like Professor McGonagall, or one of the other Professors Harry would become familiar with in his first year at Hogwarts. As in who he would take classes with. Molly Weasley broke the Statute of Secrecy when she spoke of Muggles and Platform Nine and Three Quarters loudly in a Platform full of Muggles. Quirrel screams 'Troll in the Dungeon', and Dumbledore sends the students to their Common Rooms. The Slytherins -"

" – are in the dungeons," Harry finished, with a grin, "Yes. Very good. These three events really happened where I come from. But the reason _why_ they happened was not explained in the books. JK Rowling did not include what really happened, because she wanted to make certain people look better than they truly were."

"Are you trying to tell me Hagrid is not the big, lovable bloke he is in the books and movies?" Emma said.

"He is the big and lovable bloke," Harry said, "But he is also gullible, easily manipulable and trusts people way too easily. After all, it was not Hagrid's idea to get me and bring me to Diagon Alley, now was it? Someone else gave him the order."

"Albus Dumbledore," Emma said. "He was Hagrid's boss, so he gave Hagrid the order."

"Dumbledore," Harry said, nodding. "Dumbledore is also the reason Molly Weasley risked the Statute of Secrecy. Well, somewhat anyway. Doing what Dumbledore wanted her to do, was something she wanted to do anyway."

"You mean when she used these specific keywords," Emma said, "and Harry walked over to her, without a second thought?"

"I was lost and thought I'd never find the Platform!" Harry defended himself, "I thought she was helping me!"

"Okay, I'm going to play your little game for a bit," Emma said. "Let's say you are this boy. If events followed like they did in the books, you grew up with some mean, nasty people. People who locked you in a cupboard and did not feed you for days at a time. Vernon Dursley specifically said 'no meals for a week' as a punishment. They bullied and abused you. That should have made you less trustworthy of practically everyone. Then you come to find out you are a celebrity in this society. Everyone knows your name, including this Professor Quirrel character who could have kidnapped you that day you met him! And you offered to shake his hand! And now you say you walked straight up to a strange lady you don't know, because she said some magic words… literally?"

"You don't need to lecture me," Harry said, "I've heard the same things several times over! Yes! I was a naïve and gullible idiot! Yes, I fell for manipulation and schemes which were being hand-fed to me, sometimes literally! Why do you think I am here? BECAUSE I WANT TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!"

Emma flinched at the boy's screaming. Harry stood up and paced back and forth.

"I've read the same books you have and seen the same movies," Harry said, "I wish I led such a nice life. Even with all the violence and near-death, and losses that boy experienced. I did experience a lot of that. But for the whole of my life, at least the years depicted in those books, I was being manipulated, and coerced, and my life wasn't my own. I was just a puppet for several marionettes, the biggest one being Albus 'Too Many Names' Dumbledore! Even my love life wasn't my choice! The girl I really loved was taken from me!"

"Ginny?" Emma said.

Harry turned on her. "Don't you speak that bitch's name to me!"

Emma blinked at the boy's language, and the manner of his tone. He did not sound like a ten year old kid.

"I was never meant to fall in love with her," Harry said. "But Molly Weasley and her two youngest – those _fuckers_ Potioned me. Love Potions, Loyalty Potions, you name it! All because I wasn't falling under their plans! Theirs and Dumbledore's! The girl I really loved – also the same victim. Fed the same Potions. One of the Potions we were fed made us so that we didn't feel our true emotions for one another. All because that stalker bitch wanted to marry me, and she couldn't have it any other way. All because that fat-ass traitor troll was jealous of me!"

"Hermione," Emma muttered, "She was the girl –"

Harry collapsed onto a sofa. "Yes… she was the girl."

He looked hopeful, and looked at Emma. "Do you really believe me, now, Mum?"

The word "Mum" brought her back to reality. "I'm just playing your game, kid. Remember, I need these details for my investigation."

"I don't believe you," Harry said. "But my story isn't over."

Emma sighed and made a hand signal for Harry to continue.

"Fast forward two years after the events of the Epilogue in that book series," Harry said, "My youngest, Lily, was in Hogwarts for a week when it happened. Ginny came home one night, crying, and I thought something happened at work. She told me Hermione, my best friend, my most loyal friend – was dead. Murdered. She was a big name in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so I thought it might have been related to that. An Assassination. I was an Auror, you see, and I demanded I be in charge of the investigation. It came to a point where I didn't come home for days on end.

"One time, I didn't come home for a week, because I was so obsessed with the investigation – finding the murderer of my best and dearest friend. It was at a point where I wasn't eating. If I had been clear of mind, I'd have realized most of the meals I was getting came from either Ginny or her mother. One day, I woke up, and it was like a fog had lifted in my mind. I suddenly remembered memories and feelings I hadn't felt or remembered for a very long time. I was in love with Hermione Granger, and she was in love with me. Until we weren't… until we were suddenly infatuated with two Weasleys.

"I immediately changed my investigation. I realized I must have been given constant Potions for what had happened to me. So I had a good friend in the DMLE investigate the food Ginny and her mother gave me. It was dosed with several types of Potions. In the end, Ginny and Molly were arrested for these crimes… as was Ron Weasley. During Ron's interrogation via Veritaserum, I discovered…"

"He murdered Hermione," Emma guessed.

"Yes," Harry said, "In a fit of rage and spousal abuse, something that had been going on for years that he and his mother were able to hide, and able to convince Hermione to hide – due to Potions. One day, his temper became too much and he…"

He choked on a sob and buried his face in his hands. Emma just sat there, watching the boy cry. She had the overwhelming urge to walk over to him and comfort him, hug him. But she just remained in her chair.

Harry sniffled and put his hands down. "It was always supposed to be me and her. Hermione. She was supposed to be Hermione Potter, and we would have beautiful kids and a wonderful life. And it was taken from me.

"The interrogations on the three Weasleys brought more revelations. Dumbledore's manipulations, stories about Hermione's attempted murder several times – which I saved her from nearly every time. When I couldn't, others saved her. She was falling in love with me pretty early on into our first year at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore couldn't have that happen, so she was his target. But he couldn't kill her. If it was discovered, he would lose his reputation of 'Leader of the Light'. So his main task when it came to her was to make her fall in love with Ron Weasley, instead of me.

"After I found out all about this, and so much more… I… well, I admit, I didn't want to live. In the end, I lived because of my kids, and Hermione's kids. I took Rose and Hugo in after Hermione died, and their father went to Azkaban. And for years, my life was all about then. Lily was the youngest. When she turned seventeen and graduated from Hogwarts, and started living her own life, I started planning the end of mine. Yes, I wanted to kill myself.

"Then I came up with a new answer. Something that would eventually lead me into this reality. When I arrived in this reality, my purpose, my mission was three things. One: save Hermione, marry her and have the life I always wanted with her. Two: End Voldemort in this world and save as many lives as I could. Three: Get my revenge on those who betrayed me, because you better believe they will do it again!"

"So.. where do I come in, in this tale?" Emma asked, "Aside from – you know – that whole mother-son thing which I still don't believe. You said it was my destiny."

"I came to this reality two years ago, when this Harry was eight years old," Harry said, "I could not believe I had not come back to the eighties, instead it was the mid twenty-tens! That took some investigation. Should have seen my face when I saw my name on several books in a Muggle library. I read those books immediately, and I could not believe what I was reading. I was panicking. Was my whole life in this world a story? Did the wizarding world not exist? But I soon realized the Dursleys exist, so I investigated. The wizarding world exists, it is just takes place in different years. I don't know why."

"The Dursleys," Emma echoed, "You're not trying to tell me you really live with an abusive whale who locks kids in cupboards and-?"

Emma might have believed this kid was delusional. But if he really lived with a family who he compared to the Dursleys in the books… well, that wasn't good news. She might not believe him, but she couldn't let him go back to an abusive family, if that was what was really going on.

"Yes, I've been living with the Dursleys," Harry interrupted her, "But ever since I've been here, I've been doing my best to keep our relationship… civil. You'll find out what I did at some point. Anyway, long story short, I was no longer living in the cupboard and was able to do what I wanted to do… as long as I was outside and out of their hair, the Dursleys didn't care. First thing I did was find Hermione, make sure she was okay, and that she really existed. I never introduced myself to her. I just watched her and kept an eye on her for one purpose. I wanted to see if she was a witch in this reality too. When I watched her do magic, and verified she was a witch, I said my temporary goodbye. I'll see her soon anyway.

"My next mission was to figure out what to do about Voldemort, Dumbledore and the Weasleys. But since I am a celebrity in the wizarding world, I can't go into locations in the wizarding world to investigate. I'm not supposed to know about the wizarding world until I turn eleven.

"So I did other things. Several months ago, I decided I needed to see if this Earth was different to mine in any way. So I went to several libraries and looked up old newspapers. One day, I came across an article. It was about a mysterious Jane Doe, a coma patient, waking up with amnesia. It said she had a husband and possibly a child whom she couldn't remember. I guess the article was written in hopes someone would figure out who this woman was. It gave her description too. Auburn hair, emerald eyes, early twenties."

Harry looked at Emma, who looked away from the boy, and down at her cupcake. She hadn't touched it.

"I thought I was crazy," Harry said, "This was an exact description of my mother at the time. My world changed on that day. Anonymously, I hired a private investigator to look for you."

"A Private Investigator?" Emma asked, "Really?"

Harry shrugged and smiled. "Ironic, huh? I had saved up the cash to do so. So I anonymously hired a private investigator, and let me tell you, that was tough. But they succeeded in finding you, and here I am, meeting you, Emma Swan. Or do I call you Lily Potter? Or Mum?"

"You know I can just call the police on you, right?" Emma asked.

"I'll tell them you kidnapped me," Harry said. "Now, imagine I am telling the truth. You are my mother. Which means…"

"Our DNA would be the same," Emma said, "Which means they would believe the kidnapping tale."

"Be honest with me," Harry said, "Did you become a private investigator to solve your own case? Solve who you truly are? Possibly find your child and maybe your husband? Can't help with the husband bit… Dad really is dead. Sorry."

Emma wiped away a very unwelcome tear that had come to her eye.

"Don't you want to know if my story really is true?" Harry asked. "On the off-chance it is, you will have found what you've been looking for!"

"I take it you want me to go to England with you," Emma muttered.

"Yes," Harry said.

Emma sighed. If she called the police, Harry would likely go with the 'kidnapping' story. If he really was her son… even if he was delusional, she'd want to make sure he was okay. In the end, he would have been looking for her.

And she had been looking for her son all these years, after all. And if he really did live with an abusive family, well, she needed to make sure that was remedied very quickly.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. Emma and Harry both looked in the direction of the door, then back at each other.

"Answer it, but don't tell them I am here," Harry said, "Whoever it is, they're probably looking for me. I bet they're Dumbledore's minions."

Emma shook her head and stood up. She walked over to the door and opened it. Two people were standing there: a lady, and an older man. The older man had a hood, a wooden cane, and an eyepatch on one eye.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're looking for a missing kid," the woman said, "A young boy."

She pulled an item from her pocket, and revealed it as a photo. She showed the photo to Emma. It was a photo of Harry, taken from a distance. Definitely not taken with his permission.

"Haven't seen him," Emma said, "Sorry."

"Take another look," the old man said.

"I am looking, and I haven't seen him," Emma said. "Now go away, or I am calling the police. In fact, you should go to the police. They'll want to know a kid is missing. They'll put an Amber Alert out on him."

Emma noticed that both individuals looked quite confused at the term "Amber Alert".

"Good luck," Emma said, "I hope you find him."

"We'll leave you alone then," the young woman said.

Emma nodded and shut the door. She remained at the door for a moment, and listened for footsteps. She heard the footsteps walking away, one sounded heavier than the other. Emma sighed and walked back into the living room.

"So… who was it?" Harry asked.

"I didn't get their names," Emma said, "But they were looking for you. They had a photo of you from a distance. Didn't look like it was taken with your permission."

"What did they look like?" Harry asked.

Emma gave Harry a description of the two.

"Alastor Moody and Emmeline Vance," Harry immediately said. "Two members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's minions. Yeah, they've been following me ever since we left England."

"Alastor Moody?" Emma asked, "As in Mad-Eye? So where was his eye?"

"I stole it," Harry said, grinning. "But even if I hadn't, do you obviously think he would have worn it while talking to you? It is definitely not a Muggle invention. You would have noticed how odd it is, and he'd have risked the Statute of Secrecy. Also, if he had his eye, he would have known I was in here. He could have looked through the walls and saw me. Which is why I stole it."

"You said 'we'," Emma said, "'We left England'."

"Me and the Dursleys," Harry said, "When I discovered you were here in Boston, I needed a way to get here. So I had the Private Investigator I hired pose as someone, come to my house, and tell the Dursleys that they won an all-expenses paid vacation to Boston. The Dursleys didn't want to take me, but the investigator saw me and said the tickets were for the two adults and two children. Otherwise they would have taken Marge and not me.

"Look, Alastor Moody isn't a dumb ass. Even with blonde hair and hazel eyes, I am sure you still resemble Lily Potter. Sooner or later, Moody's going to remember you and make a connection. You can't be here when he does."

"But he thinks I am dead, doesn't he?" Emma asked, "I mean… if this is really Moody, and he thinks I'm Lily Potter…"

"Obviously Lily's body was never found after the events of that Halloween night," Harry said, "So I am guessing Moody and Dumbledore and others have theories that Lily – you – might very well be alive."

"Well, whoever that guy was, he creeped me out," Emma said, "So I agree with you when it comes to the fact I don't want to be here when he comes back."

Harry grinned. "So… you mean…"

"You've grown on me, kid," Emma said, "I'm going to help you get back home. England, right? If your relatives are abusive, I'll deal with them. You won't be living with abusive relatives."

"Cause I'll be living with you!" Harry said; his grin hadn't left his face.

Emma chose to ignore that.

-  
 **This is a story I might continue in the future. Out of all the "first chapters" I plan on posting, this is my most intriguing for me.**

 **Right now, I am focused on Free Use Experience, but I'll update this with more "First Chapters" in the future.**


	2. Butterfly Effect (Hermione Time Travel)

**Title: Butterfly Effect (Hermione the Time Traveler)**

 **Summary: Hermione had a plan. She'd go back in time, help her soul-mate Harry Potter, through certain points in his life, stopping threats, preventing certain events, and changing others, carving a path for Harry to complete his destiny and a far better future than she experienced the first time around. But there is one thing she hadn't taken into consideration. The Butterfly Effect.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings: Time Travel,** **Manipulative!GreaterGood!Dumbledore, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys, others**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **Author's Note: Another cliché time-travel Harry/Hermione story, but this time, Hermione is the time-traveler. But my plans for this story was that, as Hermione changed more and more things, then things became more unpredictable in the future.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **The Reunion**

Hermione Granger was currently leaning against a wall near Platform Nine and Three Quarters at Kings Cross Station, her arms crossed as she looked around at the passing travelers. Every now and then, certain people would run toward the portal into Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and disappear, arriving at the magical platform where the Hogwarts Express was currently stationed.

Hermione was a Muggleborn witch, but unlike other Muggleborn witches and wizards, she was different. She was special.

Hermione Granger was a time traveler. She had come from fifteen years in the future, had the memories, mind and magic of her twenty-six year old self, but she looked like her eleven, near twelve year old self. She had traveled back in time using an archaic ritual that was considered rather Dark in nature, because it needed the sacrifice of a human life. However the twist was, that the sacrifice had to be _voluntary._ Her best friend, soul-mate and the love of her life, Harry Potter, was the voluntary sacrifice.

The reason for the ritual and time travel was a very complicated tale. Even though Harry was the love of her life, certain forces prevented herself and Harry from becoming a couple until it was far too late for them to truly enjoy themselves. In the future she had come from, Hermione had gotten married at twenty years of age. But she did not marry Harry Potter. She married a man whom she and Harry thought was their best friend for several years – Ronald Weasley. For four years, Hermione had a relatively good life of marriage. She believed she was happy. She had a good career in the DMLE. She believed her marriage to Ron was a good one.

But there was always that nagging thought in the back of her mind that she had married the wrong person. She watched Harry as he married Ginny Weasley, also at the age of twenty, and he seemed to have a good marriage, and a good career as an Auror. But, once again, there was always that nagging feeling in Hermione's mind that Harry wasn't meant to marry Ginny.

At twenty-four years of age, Hermione got attacked in an attempted assassination. She was in St. Mungo's for a week, to heal up. While she was in the hospital, Ron and his mother, Molly, had several conversations with her, trying to convince her to leave her job, and retreat into the safety and comfort of being a housewife to Ron. Ron talked of children, and Hermione was shocked to find that she was quite agreeable with Ron and Molly's idea. She was so shocked that she began to wonder why she was agreeable.

Then one day during her stay at St. Mungo's, a different Healer than the one who had been assigned to her, came in and diagnosed her. They found something that the other Healer had not – actually the other Healer had deliberately ignored it because they had been paid off to do so. It turned out Hermione had been dosed with Love Potions keyed to Ron, and Loyalty Potions to Ron, Molly and Ginny. Also there was a Revulsion Potion keyed to Harry Potter, as well as Compulsion Draughts which made her more agreeable to certain persuasion from certain people – Ron and Molly.

The Healer had gave her Flushing Draughts, then contacted Harry Potter, as Auror, to investigate what had happened. When he arrived, he was also diagnosed with similar Potions – Love Potion keyed to Ginny was the worst one. Harry sent the reports into his Department – he couldn't take the case because he was a victim in the case. Ron, Molly and Ginny were arrested. But Ginny revealed during her interrogation she was pregnant. She couldn't be sent to Azkaban because of the baby. She was sentenced to the mental ward in St Mungo's, where she had twenty-four hour guard and suicide watch until she gave birth. It was also revealed that the baby was not Harry's. It's father was Cormac McLaggen.

Hermione and Harry tried to divorce their spouses, but the marriages were magically binding. However, the bindings did not have consequences if Harry and Hermione committed infidelity – as proven by Ginny and McLaggen.

It was discovered they had been Potioned since their sixth year at Hogwarts, and throughout the next years, through their marriages and further on. Hermione and Harry soon realized they were in love with each other, and had been since before they were Potioned – which is why the Weasleys gave them the Potions. They became a couple three days after discovering the Potions, and before the Weasleys were sentenced. They made love that very night, and had considered themselves a couple, even though they were technically married to others.

A couple months after the revelations of the Potions and Weasley betrayal, Hermione and Harry were desperate to find a way to cancel their marriages to the Weasleys. They finally came up with an insane theory. What if they could fix it to where it never happened?

The answer: Time Travel.

Surprising enough, it was Hermione who had considered the option, even though she had history with the subject. Harry had debated with her and threw back her own words at her, from their third year at Hogwarts, saying it was dangerous. But Hermione, stubborn as always, though she'd never admit it out loud, did research, looking through the Potter, Black and Peverell family libraries. A year and a half after the Potions incident, Hermione found the Dark Ritual that would send her back in time. When Harry saw that a voluntary sacrifice was needed, selfless as always, he decided he would be the sacrifice. This caused a week of arguments between the two, before Hermione finally gave in.

But there were consequences. Only Hermione would be going back in time. The Harry she would know would be the same boy she knew back when they were kids. He wouldn't have his memories, mind or magic of the future.

But this didn't stop the couple. They planned and planned, revisiting their memories in a Pensieve for events Hermione could change. That took several months, and during those months, they discovered just how foolish and oblivious they had been, Molly, Ron and Ginny had _never_ been their friends. Nor was Albus Dumbledore, the so-called Leader of the Light, and the man they saw as a grandfatherly figure. Harry was set up from the very beginning. Their theories and conspiracies turned wilder. Suddenly, that Halloween day their first year at Hogwarts had become much more serious.

First off, why had Dumbledore told the students to go back to their dormitories when a troll was on the loose? Quirrel had said the troll was in the dungeon, and yet the Slytherin House was in the dungeons, exactly where Dumbledore had told Slytherin House to go. What had Dumbledore been thinking?

Also, how was it that the troll just so happened to go to the same bathroom Hermione was in? And _why_ had Hermione gone to that bathroom instead of retreating to the comfort and privacy of her dormitory bed? Wouldn't that have been more logical? Hermione was a very logical person, so why had she chosen such a dumb place to retreat to for a good cry? They figured that she was deliberately lured there in hopes that the troll would kill her. It was also possible the bathroom had troll lure sprayed on the walls and/or in the bathroom.

And that wasn't the only time Hermione's life was threatened. The Basilisk could have actually killed her, instead of Petrified her. The constant time traveling during her third year could have driven her into madness and nearly had. It was foolish and idiotic for her to receive the time turner – she was a third year, fourteen years of age… why give a girl so young permission to do so? Unless it was done to deliberately harm her? The time traveling to help Sirius was another attempt to kill her, putting her in harm's way from Remus the werewolf for a second time. After all, Dumbledore could have taken the Time Turner and saved Sirius that night.

And that was when they realized Dumbledore could have actually given Sirius a trial, where he would have been seen as innocent! Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock after all! So why didn't he? They then realized that he wanted Sirius to be a fugitive, because then Harry couldn't live with Sirius, who he saw as a father-figure. It would have certainly improved his life. Sirius had been sequestered in Grimmauld Place as a fugitive. Dumbledore implored him to remain there, when he could have been responsible for the man obtaining his freedom. And of course, Sirius wouldn't have died if Albus had told Harry of the Prophecy earlier. He would have known about the dangers!

Lists and lists of conspiracies and plots, lists of plans for Hermione to do. Hermione couldn't bring the lists back in time with her, but she had an eidetic memory, so she would remember everything.

And she did remember _everything_

There was just one flaw, but it wasn't too important. Her target date coming back in time had been a couple days before Harry's eleventh birthday. She would have gone to the Leaky Cauldron on Harry's birthday, with her parents, and met with Harry and Hagrid. She would have Confound Hagrid – not the easiest thing to accomplish, as he was half-giant, this was true - and when Hermione and her parents met them, she'd make Hagrid suggest Harry shop with the Grangers instead of him.

Unfortunately she had arrived a week after Harry's birthday. So she had to change her plans a bit. When her parents were at work, she visited Diagon Alley, and went on a shopping spree for different things, especially books. She had bought several books of several subjects, as well as other items.

The month of August wasn't as eventful as it could have been for the time traveler. There were some things she couldn't do yet or she'd risk her secrets and missions being discovered. She couldn't hunt down some of the Horcruxes, because she felt she wasn't ready for it. She considered going to Gringotts, taking an inheritance, where she would gain the title of Lady Dagworth-Granger – something she had discovered in the future - but she decided not to do that just yet. She feared it would be discovered in the Hall of Records if she did so, and if it became public, before she was ready, it would cause her some unwanted issues. She had to be very careful after all.

So for Hermione the time-traveler, August passed in relative unimportance. Sure, she read through many of her new books, and reviewed her first year book list. She may have had an eidetic memory, but she knew it wouldn't do to not be prepared. She may be twenty-six in her mind, but she was physically eleven, almost twelve, and she was once again beginning her Hogwarts career. She needed to do her best again, so – when she was successful in her self-appointed mission, she would have a good future. With Harry, of course, but also she could find a better career than one that had nearly got her assassinated.

Maybe she could be an Unspeakable. Maybe.

Her thoughts were interrupted, as she saw the target of her desires. Harry Potter. Her best friend, soul-mate, love of her life, future husband, and future father of her children. Her heart fluttered and threatened to skip several beats as she looked upon him. Even though he was skinny, due to the obvious malnutrition and mistreatment from living ten years with abusive relatives, Hermione still thought Harry Potter was the cutest boy at Hogwarts. He would grow up to be quite handsome. She closed her eyes, stopping the tears from falling as she thought back to the day she had said goodbye to future Harry. For several hours before they did the ritual, they were in bed making passionate love and reassuring each other that they loved the other, and always would. Hermione made many promises that she would save Harry's life and both of them would have a better life and future.

Harry was accompanied by his foul relatives the Dursleys as they made their way to Platforms Nine and Ten. Vernon Dursley waved his hand at each Platform, said something to Harry and then laughed. Then he, his wife, and son left Harry standing alone and looking very confused as he looked around the Platforms, obviously looking for where to go to get on the Hogwarts Express.

Hermione inhaled and exhaled. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. She walked forward toward Harry, and her heart skipped another beat when he looked at her, with his beautiful emerald green eyes.

"Hello!" Hermione said, with a bright smile, then she whispered, "Looking for Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

Harry's eyes widened. Then he blushed and nodded, and shyly said "Yes."

"It is right there, of course!" Hermione said, pointing to the stone pillar where the portal was.

Harry looked where she was pointed, then turned back to her with a confused frown.

Hermione smiled. "Don't believe me, do you? I am being honest. There is a Portal hidden in the pillar. You simply have to go through it. Run if you're nervous, but I promise, you'll be on the Platform before you know it."

"Um… can you come with me and show me?" Harry asked.

"I would," Hermione said.

 _But I have another mission to complete before I can get on the Platform,_ she thought to herself.

"But I am waiting for my parents who have my trunk," Hermione lied; her trunk was already on the train, her parents had already come and gone, given her hugs and goodbyes. "I ran ahead and came here. They should be here soon, but you can go on in. I can meet you on the train if you want? We can sit together."

"Um… sure," Harry said, "Yeah… yeah, I'd like that."

"Me too," Hermione said, smiling.

Harry looked at her, then at the barrier, then back at her. He cleared his throat, then pushed his cart toward the portal. Hermione smiled as she watched him run at it, and vanish through the Portal. It was then she realized she hadn't told him her name, and he hadn't told his.

 _Hopefully he doesn't feel bad about that. Aw well, I'll see him soon enough._

Hermione looked around, searching for her next victims – ahem – targets. She then smiled when she recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt. The Auror was walking toward the Platform, dressed in civilian garb, and was situated some feet away from the portal.

Excellent.

In the previous timeline, Kingsley had not been there. But she had sent an anonymous letter to the DMLE, suggesting that an Auror guard the Muggle entrance to the platform, looking for troublemakers. The letter had a Compulsion Charm weaved into the parchment, so that the chosen Auror would arrive minutes before the train left. That had been part of Hermione's plan. Kingsley would be there to catch a certain law-breaker.

Speak of the devil! Hermione grinned mischievously, as she saw the redheaded family walking toward the platform. She situated herself close to Kingsley and watched as the Weasleys came forward.

"—packed with Muggles of course!" Molly Weasley said, loudly.

Hermione grinned and walked over to Kingsley. "Er… Mr. Auror? You are an Auror, yes?"

Kingsley looked down at her and smiled. "I am, young lady. Shouldn't you be headed onto the Platform?"

"I am about to do that," Hermione said, "But… um… you see that red-headed lady with her family. She was talking loudly about Muggles, without care, even though she is around loads of Muggles. I may be a Muggleborn, and have only recently been introduced to wizarding society. But, I've been doing a lot of reading, and I wondered… um… isn't that breaking the Statute of Secrecy?"

Kingsley narrowed his eyes at Molly Weasley, then looked back at Hermione. "You are correct, young lady. Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome," Hermione said.

Kingsley strode over to Molly Weasley and her children, just as she started speaking loudly about Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Hermione walked over to a wall near Kingsley and the Weasleys, and watched them.

"Madam!" Kingsley said, with his usual booming tone.

Molly jumped and looked at Kingsley. "Auror Shacklebolt! How may I help you?"

"You may help me by accompanying me to the Auror Department, madam," Kingsley said.

Molly's face went red and purple. She stammered. "Auror Shacklebolt, I have done nothing that would cause such unnecessary actions. I am merely making sure my boys gets on the train."

"You were speaking loudly about Muggles and Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Kingsley said, "while you were surrounded by Muggles. Threatening the Statute of Secrecy, that is enough to arrest you, Madam!"

Molly blustered as her face went a deeper red. "I-I-"

"Are you going to deny it, after I heard you for myself?!" Kingsley demanded.

"I – I – I was told to do it!" Molly cried.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She didn't think Molly would admit that so easily.

"Pardon?" Kingsley asked.

"Albus Dumbledore wanted me to do that," Molly said, "so that – um – someone – I mean anyone who were lost and looking for the Platform could seek me out."

"Someone? Who?" Kingsley asked; Molly frowned, but did not answer, so the Auror continued, "I do not think you're being completely honest with me. You will come with me to the Ministry so we can figure out exactly what is going on."

"But my boys need to get on the train!" Molly pleaded, "Let me take them onto the Platform, please."

"So you can then Apparate out of the Platform and avoid me?" Kingsley asked, "I think not."

Hermione snorted softly. Did Molly really think she could get away with that?

"This young man looks old enough to handle your children," Kingsley said, nodding to Percy Weasley, "He looks to be a Prefect, after all. It will be his responsibility to make sure the boys get on the Hogwarts Express."

Molly frowned and stammered and looked from Percy, to Kingsley.

"Mother, I don't know what is going on," Percy said, "But I would advise you to take Ginevra and _please_ accompany the Auror before you make things worse for yourself… and us. I will accompany Ron onto the train and he can sit with me, or Fred and George."

Hermione was only mildly surprised by Percy's statement. She had never thought Percy would talk that way to his mother. But at his current age, he was also somebody who followed rules and laws quite strictly. He also respected people who were well-respected in the Ministry of Magic, much like Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was, after all, aspiring to get a very good job in the Ministry.

"No!" Ron exclaimed, "I can go on the train myself. If I sit with you, then I won't be able to find –"

"Hush, Ronald!" Molly hissed.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. She and Harry had been correct. Ron had been ordered or persuaded to search for Harry and sit with him. And it seemed Molly had something to do with that. She had deliberately stopped him before he could say Harry's name.

"Percy, you can take Ron onto the Platform," Molly said, "And then – well, I am sure he can find his own seat on the train. After all, you need to meet with the other Prefects and Head Students. You don't want to miss that, and Ron doesn't need to accompany you there."

Hermione swore under her breath as Percy – albeit apparently in slight reluctance - agreed with his mother. She had personally hoped none of the Weasleys would be on the train so she wouldn't have to deal with them. Now she would have to resort to Plan B.

Aw well. Plan B was loads more fun than Plan A. She sighed and walked over to the Portal and stepped onto it, and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

There was still ten minutes until the Hogwarts Express began its journey, and a few parents were still saying goodbye to their children. She saw Neville Longbottom, with his Gran, Augusta. Augusta was holding Neville's toad, Trevor.

"Neville, your toad almost got away again!" she said, "You need to hold onto him!"

Hermione stealthily placed a Tethering Charm on Trevor and attached it to Neville. The Tethering Charm was a charm for mothers whose little kids liked to run away from them while they were out in public, shopping and such. The Charm caused the target to remain with the person the charm was attached to. It would dissipate on its own in eight hours. She didn't need the distraction of dealing with Neville and his toad. She was going to be far too busy dealing with Weasleys and spending time with Harry.

She turned and noticed Percy and Ron walking toward one of the train's doors. They placed their belongings near the train, where the Platform's staff were placing the belongings under the train in compartments. She then followed Percy and Ron onto the train.

"Ronald, I don't know what that was with our mother, but something tells me you're a part of it," Percy said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Percy," Ron scowled.

"Don't give me that!" Percy growled. "Mum has never had to ask where the Platform was! Never! She's been on this Platform dozens of times, from the time when she was your age, possibly younger! And she never spoke up about Muggles so loudly like that, especially in such a public place! I don't know what is going on between her and Albus Dumbledore, but I will find out, that I promise you!"

"Nothing is going on!" Ron lied, "That Auror had no business confronting Mum, and taking her to the Ministry. I guarantee this is his last day as an Auror! He'll be fired for this!"

"Mum was breaking the Statute of Secrecy, Ron!" Percy said, "That is illegal. She could be fined or sent to Azkaban. Even if it is only a fine, we can barely afford to _live_ without the trouble of fines."

"Professor Dumbledore will take care of it," Ron said, dismissively.

"Whatever you were planning on doing, Ronald," Percy said, "You better forget it. Go sit with Fred and George."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Ron scowled.

"I am a Prefect, Ronald!" Percy growled.

Ron scoffed. "So you're already abusing the powers of a Prefect. Typical!"

"Abusing?!" Percy scoffed.

"You're going to betray your own brother," Ron said, "your own flesh and blood, all for the duties of a Prefect. Do it then. I'll tell Mum, and you'll no longer be Prefect."

"I dare you to do so," Percy said, "After all, she was quite proud that I am a Prefect."

"Some Prefect you are," Ron said, "Late for your meeting."

Percy scowled, turned and walked down the corridor. Ron scowled, then turned and his eyes went wide when he saw Hermione.

"What are you looking at?" Ron growled. "Did you – were you eavesdropping on me and my brother?"

"Nope," Hermione said, smiling, "I was actually practicing a spell."

"Oh, yeah?" Ron sneered, "What spell? Prove it! Otherwise I'll report you for eavesdropping."

Hermione pointed her wand at Ron. " _Confundo!"_

Ron's eyes dazed over and went blurry as the spell settled into him.

"You will not pursue any intentions you have for Harry Potter today," Hermione said, "You will do your best to avoid him until you go to bed this evening. You will not speak to him, nor will you talk about him. For the remainder of the day, Harry Potter does not exist in your mind. You will sit with Fred and George Weasley and remain there until the train arrives at Hogsmeade. You will not attempt to sit with Harry on the boats going to Hogwarts."

Then she smirked as an idea crossed her mind.

"And you will beg the Sorting Hat to place you into Slytherin House," Hermione said, "Do you understand?"

Ron mechanically repeated her orders to the word.

"Good, you are dismissed" Hermione said.

Ron turned around and walked robotically through the corridors. Hermione sighed, happy with herself. That was so fun. Of course, she doubted Ron would stay in Slytherin House. Molly 'the Mouth' Weasley would probably demand to Dumbledore that Ron be resorted or automatically placed in Gryffindor if the Hat refused to resort him.

After all, if he remained in Slytherin, and Harry was in Gryffindor, there was no way Ron could be best friends with Harry. He _had_ to be in Gryffindor so he could be best friends with Harry, and, in the future, introduce him to the Weasleys and – in Ron and Molly's minds – his surrogate and future official family, and future wife, Ginny.

 _But if Harry isn't in Gryffindor, that would completely mess up Molly's plans,_ Hermione thought with a smirk, _Harry – future Harry, I mean – did say he could have considered Ravenclaw, if he had known more about the House, instead of being manipulated before arriving at Hogwarts into only consider going into Gryffindor, and to avoid Slytherin altogether. It will be my job to explain to Harry about the Hogwarts Houses and the ins and outs of wizarding society, since he's so completely lax in those details at the moment. Thank you very much for that, Hagrid!_

Hermione walked down the corridor and stopped at a bathroom. She stepped into it, and reached behind the toilet, where she had stuffed her carry-on bag. After all, she didn't want to place it in a carriage where Harry wasn't located.

She shouldered the bag, then left the bathroom and continued through the train until she found Harry sitting alone, with only his owl, Hedwig as a guest. She placed a modified Notice-Me-Not Ward on the carriage, only giving permission to the Snack Lady, herself and Harry. No need for unwanted confrontations with Draco Malfoy and his minions. This would give her and Harry several hours of unimpeded conversation where she would continue her plans. Yes, she felt bad that she was going to be manipulating Harry into the young man she wanted him to be. But future Harry had given her permission, and when she finally decided to tell present Harry about her secret of time-travel – whenever that would be, though _hopefully_ not anytime in the near future – she would show him the memory of future Harry giving her permission to manipulate Harry.

Her manipulations, after all – and this was agreed wholly by Harry - would be for the betterment of Harry, and the future. None of her manipulations were evil, like Albus Dumbledore's and certain Weasleys. No, hers would be to protect Harry, and give him a better future – better than being the Potioned up husband to an unfaithful Ginny Weasley.

Hermione opened the sliding door. Harry jumped in his seat and looked at her. His expression went from shock to relief.

"You didn't think I was going to sit with you, did you?" Hermione asked.

Harry blushed, his cheeks turning quite pink. "I thought you would have found better to sit with."

"I promised you that I would sit with you," Hermione said, as she stepped into the carriage and shut the door behind her; she put her traveling bag on the empty seat and sat down beside it; "And that is exactly what I am going to do."

"Oh, well, okay," Harry said, "Err… do you need help putting the bag above you?"

"I could put it up there by myself just fine, if I wanted to," Hermione said, "But then I'd have to get up and take it down, if I wanted to grab a book or something from it. It is going to be a long train ride, and I brought some books with me to read. Oh, how very rude of me, not once since we met have I introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you, Mister…"

"You don't know who I am?" Harry asked.

"You haven't introduced yourself," Hermione said.

"But I'm – well – apparently I am sort of a celebrity in the wizarding world," Harry said, "Don't get me wrong, I don't like it. I'm tired of everyone looking at my scar –" He placed a finger up to the bangs on his hair and parted them, revealing his lightning-bolt scar, "—and knowing who I am before I can introduce myself!"

"Oh, well, I am a Muggleborn," Hermione said, then sighed, "Okay, to be honest, I do know who you are. Because I've read a few books, and you are in a few of them. But I want you to introduce yourself to me, because where I'm from, it is polite to introduce oneself."

"I'm Harry," Harry said, "Harry Potter. I'm from that world too, you know."

"Society," Hermione corrected him.

"Pardon?" Harry asked.

"We are all part of the same 'world'," Hermione said, "No matter what some wizarding folk apparently want to believe. But in proper terms, the wizarding society and Muggle society are separate."

"Oh," Harry said, "How do you know that?"

"I read," Hermione said, "I've been reading my books since I bought them in Flourish and Blott's."

"So have I!" Harry said, "But I haven't seen anything about societies."

"Did you buy any other books besides the required ones on the booklist?" Hermione asked.

"Er… no," Harry said, blushing.

"Well, you should have bought some introductory books at the very least," Hermione said, "Something that would get you more acquainted with the wizarding society."

"I am now realizing that," Harry muttered; he looked very disheartened and disappointed with himself, "I bet I'm going to be horrible at everything in Hogwarts."

"You won't be," Hermione said, "I'm not the only Muggleborn, and you're not the only one who likely hasn't read enough before today. Laziness isn't just a Muggle thing, you know. N-not that I'm calling you lazy!"

She had not meant to imply that he was lazy, even though there was some truth to it.

"No, you're right," Harry said, "I normally like to read a lot. So I should have gotten more books. But the bloke who showed me Diagon Alley – well, he seemed in a bit of a rush, and would only let me buy things on my booklist. Like I really wanted this gold cauldron…"

"Gold Cauldrons are too heavy, Harry," Hermione said, "And are for more advanced Potions, so I've read. You don't just buy a gold cauldron because it is flashy, you know. There is a reason the booklist told us to get the standard Pewter cauldron. But if you wanted more books and had told your tour guide that you wanted to learn more about the wizarding society, he might have let you buy more."

"I suppose you're right," Harry said, nodding.

"Well, how about this?" Hermione said, "This train ride is going to be very long. There won't be much to do besides talking and sleeping. That is why I've brought several books along. You can read some if you want. I won't mind. I'll even recommend a couple."

"Really?" Harry asked, "If you're sure, I'd really appreciate that. I should have realized the train ride would be long. I would have brought a book on the train with me."

"Lucky I wandered into your compartment then, eh?" Hermione asked.

Harry smiled, and Hermione had to hold back a swoon. She missed that smile.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Lucky for me."

"Okay, so how about this?" Hermione said, "I've read through all the books I've brought with me. I'm just rereading them so I don't get bored. So while you read them, if you have questions to ask, or topics to  
bring up about them, don't hesitate to speak up, even if I am reading a book. I can try to explain things."

"If you're sure," Harry said.

"I'm sure," Hermione said.

She opened her carry-on bag and dug into it, then brought out two books. One was a small book, while the other was quite large. Harry blanched at the size of the second, and Hermione caught this. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I don't want you to read the whole thing," Hermione reassured him with a soft smile. "That would take you much longer than a long train ride. First I want you to read this one."

She handed Harry the smaller book.

"A Muggleborn Guide to Wizarding Great Britain," Harry read the title.

"It should be 'Muggleborn _and_ Muggle Raised'," Hermione said, "You're not a Muggleborn, but I am going to assume you were raised by Muggles."

"My relatives are Muggles, yes," Harry said, "That's what my – err – 'tour guide' called them."

"Then you should definitely read that book," Hermione said, "It shouldn't take you very long. Meanwhile, I am going to skim through this book for you and take a few notes. More like a guide. Which chapters you should read before we get to Hogwarts. This book is called the 'Encyclopedia Magicka – Great Britain Edition'. Basically this is like the sequel to the book you have, with a lot more facts. It is almost like an abridged version of several books in Flourish and Blott's."

Harry nodded. He opened the book and leaned back against the seat, as he started to read the book. Hermione smiled at him, watching his expression change slowly from uncertainty into a happy, peaceful calm as he continued reading. Harry looked up at her for a moment, looking rather confused. She realized she was staring at him. She shook herself and smiled at him, then rummaged through her carry-on bag and took out some parchment, a quill and some ink. She started making notes for Harry, concentrating hard so she wouldn't just sit there and stare at Harry again.

Because, to be honest, that is all she wanted to do right now.

* * *

 **To be honest, I think I was going somewhere with this story when I ended the chapter, but then I started working on another chapter for a story that was already in progress, and forgot about this one.**


	3. A Seer's Power

**Title: A Seer's Power**

 **Summary: Summer after his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry meets quirky Seer, Luna Lovegood, who reveals many shocking revelations and surprises and changes his future for the better.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings:** **Manipulative!GreaterGood!Dumbledore, Fem-Slash, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys, some Order members, others**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione, maybe Harry/Hermione/Luna**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **Luna Lovegood**

Harry Potter was currently sitting on a swing on a playground a few blocks from his home at Number 4 Privet Drive, enjoying an early summer afternoon. The weather was warm with no clouds in the sky, showing no hint of the sweltering heat wave that would encompass the area and much of England through much of summer. Young boys and girls, most of whom were under the age of ten, were playing and laughing and simply having fun while their parents, guardians and babysitters watched on.

Harry favored this park simply because the neighborhood was far enough from Privet Drive, that none of the lies and false rumors told about him by the Dursleys reached ears of the residents near the park. Nobody in the area thought he was a criminal, bully or ne'er-do-well. He was just another young lad enjoying the comforts of the park.

Harry pushed the swing back and forth, and let the momentum take him as his thoughts swam through his mind.

It had been one week since he had returned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he had just finished his fourth year at the school. It had been ten days since the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament and the nightmarish aftermath, where he had been kidnapped via Portkey and taken to a graveyard. He had witnessed the death, the murder, of Cedric Diggory, a young man who he considered somewhat of a friend, since he got to know the boy during the Tournament. In the graveyard, he had also been forced to participate in a gruesome ritual, where his blood was forcefully taken and used to bring Voldemort, the most fearsome and powerful Dark Lord in several decades, back to full strength and a new body. Harry had barely escaped with his life, and he considered himself very lucky for it.

But Harry had not escaped unscathed. He had another scar on his body to join the many others he had been given, including the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead that was well known across wizarding Britain. In addition to the physical marks, there were also the nightly-occurring nightmares. Nightmares of Cedric's death, nightmares where he relived the entire graveyard event over and over, nightmares where he had been killed that evening instead of barely escaping with his life, and one particularly unwelcome nightmare where instead of Cedric Diggory being murdered, it was his best friend Hermione Granger.

The latter nightmare had just occurred in the very early hours of that morning, and he hadn't gone back to sleep. He had barely resisted from writing a letter to Hermione and sending it to her with Hedwig, just to make sure she was okay. But he had realized he was being stupid. Hermione was safe and alive – he would have heard if that status had changed, right? He hadn't received any letters from his friends yet, but that was okay. It had only been a week since he had seen them.

Harry smiled as he thought of Hermione. He smiled as he thought of what her response to his letter would be if he had written to her about his most recent dream. While she might have thought him silly for writing to her simply because of a nightmare, he figured she might have also felt rather touched that he had checked in with her to make sure she was alright. She also probably would have reassured him that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

 _You're avoiding the real question you should be asking yourself, mate,_ the voice in the back of his head – his conscience – said. _Why was Hermione Granger the star of your nightmare when Ron Weasley is the one you would "miss the most"?_

Harry decided this was a good point. After a couple minutes pondering this, he realized the answer. Whoever had assigned the hostages was probably insane. Ron Weasley wasn't the one he would miss the most. No, definitely not, not after Ron's betrayal after Harry's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire. Harry still considered him a friend, though he felt he would have trouble completely trusting the boy - but he could no longer see him as his best friend. Hermione had taken that spot of the most important friend in his life.

Hermione never betrayed him. She stuck with him after his name was ejected from the Goblet, when everyone else called him a 'cheat'. She helped him with the first task, with the Summoning Charm when he needed it. She helped him research dragons. He would have failed the task – and maybe worse – if it wasn't for her.

No, Ron was simply a substitute for Hermione for his hostage in the second task. Hermione had been Viktor Krum's hostage, and now that he thought about that, he wondered _why_ that was. She had simply been Viktor's date at the Yule Ball. They hadn't known each other that long by the time of the Second Task. Why wasn't one of Viktor's family members his hostage, like Fleur Delacour's sister? Why wasn't Hermione Harry's hostage? She was definitely who he'd miss the most. Why hadn't he asked Dumbledore, McGonagall or one of the other Professors, or Tournament handlers about this? Did Hermione know why she was Krum's hostage instead of his? He had never considered asking her that question.

Harry's thoughts traveled back to the Yule Ball, when he had watched Hermione walk down the stairs in her beautiful periwinkle blue dress. She had been breathtaking. It was as if he had seen her for the first time. He felt extremely guilty and foolish now. He should have asked Hermione to the Yule Ball, instead of pining after Cho Chang, who only had eyes for Cedric Diggory. He should have asked her the moment after Professor McGonagall had told him he needed a date for the Ball. Before Krum had the chance to meet with her in the library and ask her. If he had, he knew he would have had a much better time than he did when Parvati Patil was his date. He wondered what would have happened if Hermione had been his date. He definitely would have danced with her far more than just once. He would have been with her the entire night, and after the ball…

He smiled as his fantasy strengthened. Would he and Hermione have shared their first kiss? Would it be awkward, would it be wonderful? Would… would he have asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend?

 _Whoa!_ Where did that come from? Did he want Hermione to be his girlfriend? Yes, she was his best friend. Yes, she was definitely who he would miss the most. Yes, she was beautiful and gorgeous, and, admittedly, not only when she dressed up for a special occasion.

Damn. Harry blinked, as this new revelation swept through him. How had he not seen it sooner?

He fancied Hermione Granger. He wasn't sure if he was in love with her _yet,_ but he did fancy her.

The question was… did she fancy him? He frowned at that thought. He wasn't sure about that. After all hadn't she basically told Ron, after the Yule Ball, that he should ask her out next time there was an event like the Ball? Was it a hint to Ron? Or was she just making a point?

 _Why would Hermione fancy Ron Weasley?_ His conscience asked. _They constantly argue and bicker enough to drive anyone around the twist. He was the reason she was in the bathroom when the troll attacked during your first year. He hates her cat! How would he act toward her parents if she introduced them to him as her boyfriend? He hardly knows any Muggles. You, on the other hand, know all about the Muggle world, and you never fight with her as much as Ron does. Think about it. Who would Hermione's parents favor more as a boyfriend? Ron… or you? Hermione's a smart girl, surely she has asked these questions to herself. She must have had some thoughts about romance with one of her two best male friends._

Harry's thoughts were broken by the squeaking sound of the swing next to him. He turned his head and looked at his neighbor. The occupant of the swing was a blonde-haired girl who might have been his age, or perhaps a year younger. She was not looking straight ahead as she swung back and forth. Instead she was staring at him. And she had not blinked once since he had looked at her. Her silvery-grey eyes were large and when she finally blinked, it was rather owlishly, reminding him of his owl, Hedwig.

As he looked at her, he had a feeling that she looked familiar to him, as if he had seen her before. He had never seen her around the neighborhood near the park, but maybe she was new to the neighborhood. But that wouldn't explain why she looked so familiar. He didn't recognize her as any girl who lived around Privet Drive. The only other place he would have recognized her from would be…

Hogwarts? Was she a Hogwarts student?

"Hello?" he said, "Er… do I know you?"

The girl slowed on her swing to a stop.

"We have never spoken to each other, Harry Potter," the girl said, "But we may have crossed paths."

"You're a Hogwarts student then?" Harry asked.

"I am in Ravenclaw, a year below you," the girl said, "My name is Luna Lovegood."

Lovegood. That named sounded familiar. He suddenly recalled where he had heard it before. The day he, Hermione and the Weasleys went to the Quidditch World Cup Campgrounds. Lovegood was one of the families who had been at the Campgrounds for days, so they did not meet up for the Portkey, the old boot, that brought them to the Campgrounds.

"The same Lovegoods who live around Ottery St. Catchpole?" Harry asked, "Near the Weasleys?"

"Yes," Luna said, "We live on the opposite side of town from the Burrow. Ginny Weasley and I used to be best friends when we were little."

"Oh," Harry said, "So… er… what are you doing here in Surrey? Did you move?"

"I am here because of you, Harry Potter," Luna said, smiling.

Harry stared at her. "Why because of me?"

"I suppose I do need to explain it better," Luna said, "You see, I am what is known as a Seer,"

"Like Professor Trelawney?" Harry asked.

"Sort of," Luna said, "Professor Trelawney hasn't truly discovered her abilities as a Seer. She can perform Prophecies, but she doesn't have other more important abilities. Such as seeing the future."

"So you can see the future?" Harry asked.

He wasn't sure whether he believed her or not, but he would continue the conversation with her. After all, it wasn't everyday he spoke to someone from the wizarding world whilst in Surrey.

"I can see thefutures of certain people," Luna said. "I cannot see my own future, however, I can sometimes see myself in the futures of these people. Out of everyone who I see the future of, you are the most common of whom I See."

"Why me?" Harry asked, "Because I am the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Because Lady Fate has decided to make you her special plaything," Luna said, "Lady Fate is not a nice being. As a Seer, I have been given a gift of changing the fate of particular people."

"I am one of those people then?" Harry asked. "Let's say I believe you then. How long have you been able to see my future?"

Luna blinked. Harry was getting irrationally angry.

"How long?" he repeated, "Before I was sent to the graveyard? Before I was placed in the Tournament?"

"Before you received your first Hogwarts letter," Luna said.

"So you knew what would happen to me these last four years?" Harry asked, "You knew about the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrel? About the Chamber of Secrets, and Tom Riddle who was possessing _your friend,_ Ginny? About my godfather and the traitor Pettigrew? About the World Cup? About the Triwizard Tournament and the graveyard?! You knew?"

"I did," Luna said.

"Then why didn't you tell me?!" Harry asked, angrily, "Why are you telling me now?!"

"I tried to, Harry," Luna said, "But then I realized I couldn't. Every time I tried, I was distracted or something happened to me. I tried sending you letters during your first year at Hogwarts, but the owls kept coming back to me. I tried going directly to Hogwarts, but my Daddy would either be sick or busy whenever I wanted to ask him to take me. My Floo didn't work when I tried. During your second year, my first, I tried to tell you, and I was, once again, distracted or found myself busy. I tried to confront Ginny about the diary, and I couldn't find the words to do so. After that I simply stopped trying."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because I realized the path you were taking had to happen," Luna said, "The path that led to Voldemort's resurrection."

Harry frowned. "So he had to come back before you could help me? Why?"

"Because before his resurrection, he was merely smoke and vapor," Luna said, "Now that he has a body, he can die. Well, maybe not right now, but now he is taking a path where he will eventually die."

"And if you had been able to warn me," Harry said, "Then he wouldn't have been able to get a body?"

"Probably not," Luna said.

"And now that he has a body, you can help me?" Harry asked. "You can tell me what you see now?"

"I think so, yes," Luna said, "When I get these visions of the future, I am actually dreaming. I dreamed of something happening to you this summer, and knew I had to try to interfere. Today I finally discovered I could interfere."

"What did you dream of?" Harry asked.

"Dementors," Luna said, shivering slightly, "Two of them. You're sitting on a swing in a park, and this fat boy and his gang of bullies -."

"My cousin, Dudley and his friends?" Harry asked.

"I think so, yes," Luna said, "Dudley, is it? I never knew his name. Dudley and his friends confront you, and taunt you. Dudley insults you, and you point your wand at him. Then the sky grows dark and the air goes cold, even though there is a heat wave, and suddenly two Dementors attack you. You and Dudley run, trying to flee, and you end up in a storm drain or something. The Dementors come, and you defend yourself and Dudley with a Patronus Charm. You cast it twice. Later when you get home, you receive a notice from the Ministry, expelling you from Hogwarts for using magic for breaking the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Wizardry.."

Harry swallowed. It did indeed sound plausible. "Is – is that going to happen today. Is that why you're here?"

"I thought it would happen today," Luna said, then looked around the park, "Then when I arrived, I realized we're in the wrong park. And there is no heatwave yet."

"So why are you here today?" Harry asked.

"Because I've dreamed of other things that haven't happened yet concerning people around you," Luna said, "But I've never dreamed of them before these dreams, so I believe what is happening in those dreams concern you in some way."

"What happens in these dreams?" Harry asked.

"Before I tell you that, I need to tell you about other things that happened to you that I wished I could stop," Luna said, "Not because they were troubling for you at that very moment, but because they were troublesome for you in the future."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"Let's begin with your eleventh birthday," Luna said, "You met Hagrid, and he gave you your Hogwarts letter."

"What is so troubling about that?" Harry asked, "That was a great day."

"Hagrid is not responsible for introducing Muggleborn and Muggle-raised to the wizarding world," Luna said, "He was not a Professor, he was barely a part of the Hogwarts staff. Usually one of the four House Heads come to introduce you. Probably Professor McGonagall. Hagrid gave you a substandard introduction to the wizarding world. Did he give you an introduction packet usually given to Muggleborn and Muggle-raised?"

"Er… no," Harry said, frowning.

"The packet would have told you many things about the wizarding world," Luna said, "Some of which, even to this day, you are ignorant to. The packet would have told you exactly how to get onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Instead…"

"Instead Hagrid barely told me anything about the platform," Harry said, frowning.

"Don't blame Hagrid for that, Harry," Luna said, "He was only doing what he was told to."

"Told to by whom?" Harry asked.

"By his boss, of course," Luna said.

"… Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Are you trying to tell me Dumbledore didn't want me to get onto the Platform?"

"No," Luna said, "What happened to you was exactly what he wanted to happen."

"I… I met the Weasleys that day," Harry said.

"Think about how that happened, Harry," Luna said, "I dreamed of that moment, and that was another thing I wanted to change."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I repeat," Luna said, "Think about what happened."

Harry thought back to the day he met the Weasleys, and then it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

"She spoke of Muggles," he said, "Rather loudly too. In the middle of a crowd of Muggles. But that means she…"

"She could have broken the Statute of Secrecy," Luna said, nodding. "If you would have gotten the introduction packet, you would have known that, that day. You might have even become suspicious of her. Instead, you didn't know anything was wrong. But something else happened in that moment. Something more important."

Harry considered what happened next. Mrs. Weasley asking her children which Platform it was. Wait… why had he never questioned that moment before?

"Er… Luna?" Harry asked. "Did the Platform debut that year or something?"

"No," Luna said, shaking her head, "It has been there for a very long time. Certainly long enough for Molly Weasley, not to mention her – at that time – five children, to have used the Hogwarts Express many times."

"She knew where the Platform was," Harry said, "She spoke loudly of Muggles, and about the Platform number. Why?"

"What a silly question, Harry Potter," Luna said, "You know why."

"Because she was looking for me," Harry said. "But how did she know I'd be looking for the Platform?"

"How indeed?" Luna asked. "Consider this. Albus Dumbledore and the Weasley family have been allies for many years."

"Dumbledore wanted Hagrid to keep me uninformed of the Platform so I'd… meet the Weasleys," Harry said.

"He wanted you to meet his friends, why?" Luna asked. "Consider this, two out of the past three summers, you spent time with the Weasley family. Before your third year, the Weasleys just happen to show up to the Leaky Cauldron when you were there."

"He… wanted them to keep an eye on me, didn't he?" Harry asked, "Whenever I was away from the Dursleys, and not at Hogwarts."

"Yes," Luna said, "But something else important happened concerning the Weasleys that day. Think about how you met Ron on the train. He opened your carriage door, without knocking. Quite rude of him. Then what did he say?"

Harry thought back to that moment on the train when he met Ron. What had Ron said?

"'Can I sit here? Everywhere else… is… full'," Harry muttered, his eyebrows raising after each word, then he groaned, "Oh Merlin. There were empty carriages, weren't there?"

"There were, and even if there weren't, his older brothers would have let him sit with them," Luna said, "Why wouldn't they? He's their brother."

"He was… directed to meet me?" Harry asked, "Why?"

Luna shrugged. "I can't say for certain. Maybe you should ask him the next time you see him. Why am I specifically mentioning these two events? Because if I told you what I saw in a dream, you wouldn't believe me."

"What did you see?" Harry asked, afraid he didn't want to know.

"I saw Mrs. Weasley brewing Potions in the Burrow," Luna said, "I saw Ron and Ginny standing near her, watching her. I saw her injecting the potion into Treacle Tart and Cauldron Cakes. I saw Ron and Ginny looking very, very happy about it."

Harry swallowed. "Treacle Tart is my favorite dessert, and Cauldron Cakes…"

"Are one of the only sweets Hermione Granger favors because it wouldn't offend her dentist parents," Luna said.

"Luna," Harry said, "What were those Potions?"

Luna frowned. "Love Potion keyed to Ginny for you, and Ron for Hermione. Loyalty Potions keyed to Molly, Ron, Ginny and Dumbledore. Revulsion Potions for you keyed to Hermione, and the same for her."

Harry's bottom lip wobbled. His eyes stung. He felt utterly betrayed. Ron hadn't just betrayed him during the Triwizard Tournament. The betrayal went back to the very first day he had met Ron. Was Ron _ever_ really his friend? Then another realization struck him.

"They know how I feel about Hermione, don't they?" Harry asked.

"Harry, many people at Hogwarts think that you and Hermione are already a couple," Luna said. "It was rumored you and Hermione would go to the Yule Ball together. But it didn't happen, of course. Rita Skeeter's articles about a Love Triangle with you two and Viktor Krum happened, and suddenly people were talking. Why do you think Hermione got such a tiny Easter Egg from Mrs. Weasley?"

"She… thought we were dating," Harry said, "Oh my god. Why? Why does she not want it to happen? She wants me to date Ginny? She wants Hermione to…"

"She wants Ginny to be Mrs. Potter," Luna said, "In fact it has been her goal since Ginny was little. Ginny always bragged about how you would be her husband in the future. As for Hermione, she simply wants Hermione to be unavailable for you. Tell me, Harry. You're considering asking Hermione to be your girlfriend, yes?"

"Er… yeah, kind of," Harry said, blushing.

"But something is stopping you," Luna said, smiling knowingly, "What?"

"I… am afraid she might consider Ron boyfriend material instead of me," Harry said.

"She does not," Luna said, "And Molly, Ron and Ginny know this. That is why they want to give her these Potions so you would think she considers him boyfriend material instead of you, and therefore, you would never ask her. Voila, Weasleys succeed with their plan."

"But now, we're forewarned," Harry said, "I… I need to write to Hermione! I need to tell her!"

"I am afraid that wouldn't be a good idea," Luna said, then clarified, "Writing her, I mean."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because Dumbledore's minions – er – allies – are watching you and Hermione," Luna said, "I'm sure they have instructions to intercept any owl post, and only those letters Dumbledore approve of would find you."

"Meaning… none of Hermione's," Harry said, frowning, "Meaning…"

"Meaning you would think she is ignoring you this summer," Luna said, "Making you angry at her…"

"And if I am angry at her, I wouldn't consider her girlfriend material," Harry said.

"Very good," Luna said, smiling.

"Wait… did you say Dumbledore's allies are watching me?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Luna said.

Harry growled. People were spying on him, watching him without his knowledge.

"Where are they?" Harry asked, "Who are they?"

"Don't worry, Harry," Luna said, "There was one person watching you. I already incapacitated them before I met with you. They are under an invisibility cloak which I can see under - another gift of mine. I can't see under your Cloak though. That is rather strange. Or maybe it isn't."

"How did you incapacitate them?" Harry asked.

"I put a sleeping charm on them, of course," Luna said. "They'll wake up in a couple hours, and when you're gone, they'll think you left before they woke up."

"But the Underage Wizardry laws," Harry said.

"Yeah, that is a grey area when it comes to purebloods like me," Luna said, "You see, the wands we buy from Ollivander's have what is called the Trace on them. But there is a law that Heirs and Heiresses of Noble, or Ancient and Noble Houses can buy a second wand that doesn't have the Trace on it, so we can practice our magic at home during the summers. Basically that law exists because the Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot want their Heirs to do better at school than the students who they consider below their own children."

Luna then looked at Harry's face then at his hand. "Why are you not wearing your ring, Harry Potter?"

"Er… what ring?" Harry asked.

"Either your Heirship or Lordship ring," Luna said, "Or both. Oh, I see… Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore," Luna repeated. "You should have had your Heirship ring after your first visit at Gringotts."

 _My first visit did seem pretty rushed,_ Harry mused. _Now that I think about it, I should have met with my account manager. Why didn't… oh, Hagrid. We were basically in and out of the bank. And Griphook was likely a Vault Runner, and not an Account Manager._

"… your Lordship last November," Luna was saying.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You should have gotten your Lordship last November," Luna said, "After all, the Goblet of Fire recognized you as a legal adult, when it put you in a tournament meant for seventeen year old students and older."

"So it looks like I have some things I need to do at Gringotts," Harry said.

"Yes, indeed," Luna said, "But first we should stop by Hermione's house."

"I don't know where she lives," Harry said, "Why have I never asked her where she lives? She's my best friend, and I've never even officially met her parents. I could have gone to her house instead of the Leaky Cauldron two summers ago. Merlin, it is like I'm being pushed away from Hermione!"

"You were, Harry," Luna said, "But you can change that now. Luckily for both of us, I know where she lives. Did you bring your invisibility cloak?"

Harry was about to ask how she knew about the cloak or Hermione's address, when he decided he didn't want to know.

"Yes, I did," Harry said.

"We'll take the Knight Bus to Hermione's house," Luna said, "Then we'll convince Hermione to come with us to Diagon Alley."

Luna jumped off of the swing, and Harry stood and followed her out of the park.

* * *

 **When I wrote this chapter, it wasn't for the sole intention of any particular event that takes place in this chapter. I was wanting to write a story, where Harry and Hermione go to Grimmauld Place, and Harry confronts Dumbledore and the Weasleys about certain things, and Sirius gets up off his butt and realizes he – not Dumbledore, not Molly, not anyone else in the order,** _ **he**_ **owns Grimmauld Place, and therefore he should take charge, instead of Molly when it comes to certain things.**

 **I think I have more than one "first chapter" I wrote about different ideas that had that same topic above in common. I'll look through my stories and see.**


	4. Death's Ultimatum (JL Time Travel)

**Author's Note: And now for something completely different! This is a James and Lily fanfiction, inspired by Reptilla's Death's Challenge. Death's Challenge stories are usually Harry/Hermione stories, but when I wrote this, I wanted it to be a unique twist on that challenge.**

 **I actually wrote six (well, five-and-a-half) chapters of this story, before I stopped, so over the next six days, you'll get the six chapters that I wrote for this!**

* * *

 **Title: Death's Ultimatum**

 **Summary: When James and Lily Potter die on Halloween of 1981, they meet Death in the afterlife. He sends them back to their seventeen year old bodies with a mission: destroy Voldemort and end the war in less than two years! There's only one small catch: Lily's pregnant with twins!**

 **Rating: M**

 **Warnings: Alternate Universe, Teen Pregnancy, Ancient and Noble Houses; Lords and Ladies; Severe Character Bashing – Severus Snape; others; other warnings labeled individually in chapters.**

 **Main Ships: James/Lily, Sirius/Amelia, Frank/Alice**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **James and Lily Potter Meet Death**

James Potter gasped out a deep breath and coughed, trying to bring air back into his lungs. Breathing felt odd to him. He opened his eyes and was met by a blinding bright light. He instantly closed his eyes and shielded them with a hand. He then blinked his eyes, adjusting his sight to the light. He groaned and sat up, then looked around at his surroundings. He was sitting on the cement ground of what appeared to be Platform Nine-And-Three Quarters. Only it was empty and cleaner than what he was used to.

He heard movement beside him, and found his wife, Lily, laying next to him, gasping and trying to catch her own breath.

"Lily!" James said.

"James?" Lily replied, opening her eyes and sitting up, "Where's Harry? Where – where are we?"

"I believe I can answer that," a voice said.

James jumped at the voice and turned around. By instinct, he tried to search for his wand, but couldn't find it. He looked around for the owner of the voice, and found a figure in a hood and cloak was sitting on a bench a few feet away from him and Lily. He was dressed in a black cloak and hood, and James could not make out any of his features.

"Who are you?!" James demanded, "Where are we? Where's our son?"

"So many questions," the figure said. "As for who I am. You may call me Death."

"Death?" James echoed.

"I swear there is an echo in here," Death said, "Yes. I am Death. What is the last thing you remember?"

"Voldemort broke into our house in Godric's Hollow," James said, "I told Lily to run away, and protect our son. I tried to fight off Voldemort, but – green light. I remember a flash of green light. I suppose it was the Killing Curse."

"What about you?" Death asked Lily.

"I was protecting our son in his nursery," Lily said, "I-I begged Voldemort to not kill him, to take me instead. He told me to stand aside, and I refused. Then I remember green light – the Killing Curse."

"The Killing Curse," Death said, nodding, "Since you were both hit, then I'm sure that can mean only one thing."

"We're dead?" James asked, then looked at his surroundings. "I suppose this is some kind of Limbo, right? The plane between Heaven and Hell?"

"There you go," Death said, "You answered your own question."

"So you're Death?" James asked, "The same Death who met the three Peverell brothers by a river?"

James knew all about the story of the Peverells. The Peverells were his ancestors. The Invisibility Cloak he owned was passed down from his father. His father had received it from his own father, who received it from his, and so forth and so forth back to the time of Ignotus Peverell.

"That would be me," Death said.

"So," Lily said, "I assume we're here to go onto the next great adventure. We're here at the train station. So... what? Do we take a train into a dark tunnel and come out on the other side to whatever greets us?"

"That... is one possibility," Death said.

"We have more than one option?" James asked, "We're dead, aren't we? I assume moving on is what happens after death."

"That is what happens to the majority, true," Death said, "However, do you believe everyone who passes on gets to meet me? Definitely not! Do you know how many people die each day? I am much too busy to meet thousands of lost souls every single day of my existence!"

"So what makes us so special?" James asked.

"A promise I made to your ancestor, Ignotus Peverell," Death said. "He and I, we're old chums."

"So the stories are true," James said, "You and he met as equals in the end."

"I wouldn't say 'equals'," Death said, "Nobody is equal to me. But I will say we became friends. He was one of my greatest foes I've ever had the fortune to meet. I respected him. So I gave him another gift, aside from the Invisibility Cloak. He could ask me for one favor, as long as it wasn't bringing him back to life. His favor was this: if any of his descendants die an unnatural death, but also die whilst protecting someone they love, that descendant will earn a do-over."

"A Do-Over?" James asked, "Are you saying I get to return to life? What about Lily?"

"James," Lily said.

"Does Lily get the same privilege?" James asked, "Wherever she goes, I go."

"The promise I made to Ignotus Peverell," Death said, "does not include the loved one of the descendant. However -"

"Then I refuse," James said.

" _However_ ," Death pressed on. "I am granting your wife a do-over as well. Of course, this comes with a few catches."

"Of course it does," James muttered.

"If Harry isn't alive," Lily said, "Then I don't want to go back."

"Your son survived the attack by Voldemort," Death said, "Thanks to your sacrifice, Lily. But that doesn't matter -"

"The hell it does matter!" James growled.

"It does not matter," Death said, "Because you're not returning to life on the night you died. It doesn't work like that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" James asked.

"If you agree to return," Death said, "You'll be returning to your seventeen year old bodies. Your memories will remain as they are now, and you will have the same magical knowledge you hold now, including your Animagus talent, Lily. Since I know you're bound to ask, I could tell you that you'll be reunited with your son again. He'll be born on the same date. However, that is where one of the catches come in. You see, he won't be your oldest child."

"What?!" James and Lily asked at the same time.

"If you wish to return, it will be on Halloween of your seventh year at Hogwarts," Death said. "As you both know, Lily, you were pregnant when you died."

"Are you saying that I'll still be pregnant when we return?!" Lily asked.

"Indeed," Death said. "Perhaps you were unaware, but congratulations, you're pregnant with twins! Do you really want to lose your twins because you chose not to return in the same state as when you died? I can't do that. If I did, you wouldn't remember this conversation, nor would you have your magical knowledge of your twenty-one year old selves. The most important, however, is you wouldn't remember any of this conversation. And I can't have that."

"How do we explain my pregnancy to our friends?" Lily asked, "James and I had our first date on that Halloween!"

"Tell your friends you were keeping your relationship a secret," Death said, "That Halloween was going to be the day you revealed it. Relax, you don't need to overwhelm them with your pregnancy announcement. That can come when you start showing!"

"Fine," Lily said, "I'll keep our twins. I'll be pregnant during my seventh year -"

"- and have our twins during seventh year," James groaned.

"It isn't as if we're unprepared, James," Lily said. "We've had plenty of practice being parents."

James nodded, then turned to Death. "Do you promise we'll be reunited with Harry?"

"He'll be born on the same exact date he was born the first time," Death said, "That will be your reward from me if you succeed."

"Succeed at what?" James asked.

"At the mission I am giving you," Death said. "Actually, two missions. The first is destroying Voldemort and ending the Great War."

"Oh... is that all?" James asked, sarcastically.

"Relax," Death said, "I'll be telling you all you need to know to do it. Voldemort has been using Horcruxes."

"The bastard used Horcruxes?" James asked, appalled.

"There's that annoying echo again," Death muttered.

"What is a Horcrux?" Lily asked.

James explained to Lily exactly what a Horcrux was. Lily looked sick by the end of his explanation.

"How many?" James asked Death. "How many does he have?"

"Four, plus himself," Death said, "But he will create one more. I can't tell you about that one yet, in case your return causes complications with the timeline. I can tell you that he'll create it in the year 1979."

"Translation," James said, "Find his other Horcruxes, and destroy him before New Year's Day, 1979, and we won't have to worry about it."

"That would be a wonderful goal," Death said.

"Alright," James said, "Are you going to tell us where the other Horcruxes are?"

"Sure," Death said. "The first two will be extremely easy to obtain, ironically enough. The first is Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem."

"Her Diadem's been lost for several years!" Lily said.

"You're going to find it," Death said. "It is in a room at Hogwarts known as the Room of Requirement, one of the few rooms the Marauders have not discovered."

Death proceeded to tell the Potters exactly where the Room of Requirement was, how to get into it, and where the Diadem was located.

"The second one," Death said, "Is Salazar Slytherin's ring. The stone atop the ring is none other than the Resurrection Stone. In Halloween of 1977, your father, James, currently owns the Peverell House Ring, is this correct?"

"Yeah," James said.

"The Peverell House Ring will summon the Resurrection Stone, and Salazar Slytherin's ring," Death said, "There's the second Horcrux."

"I can get the Peverell Ring," James said, nodding.

"The third and fourth Horcruxes will be much more difficult to obtain," Death said. "The Third is a diary, belonging to Voldemort when he was a young teen. It currently resides in the home of Lucius Malfoy and his fiancee, Narcissa Black."

"They marry the summer after we finish our education at Hogwarts," James said.

"Gain an invitation to the wedding," Death said, "And search for the Horcrux during the festivities. The fourth is the Goblet of Helga Hufflepuff. It was given to Bellatrix Lestrange on her wedding day by Voldemort himself. It currently resides in the Lestrange Vault in Gringotts."

"Hmm," James said, "I wonder what Keeper Ragnok would think if he knew a Horcrux was inside his bank."

Death nodded. "A fine strategy. Once the Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort will be mortal."

"How do we destroy the Horcruxes?" Lily asked.

"Basilisk venom," Death said, "Or the Killing Curse. Or the Goblins of Gringotts could do it."

"I'm sure we can obtain some venom somehow," James said. "If not, I can speak to Ragnok about it."

"When it comes time to end Voldemort," Death said, "You could defeat him with one of my gifts – the Elder Wand. Gain the Elder Wand, and the Resurrection Stone, and you'll have your Invisibility Cloak."

"Reunite the Deathly Hallows," James said, nodding.

"That is the other mission I'm giving you," Death said. "Reunite my gifts. The Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone are too dangerous for mortals. You may keep the Invisibility Cloak, but after you defeat Voldemort, I will be taking the Wand and Stone back."

"Where is the wand?" James asked.

"Have you ever looked closely at Albus Dumbledore's wand?" Death asked.

"Albus owns the wand?" James asked.

"How are we supposed to take the wand from him?" Lily asked.

"The same way we do with the Stone," James said.

"Precisely," Death said, "However... Albus Dumbledore is obsessed with the Deathly Hallows. That is why he borrowed the Invisibility Cloak. He will not like losing the Elder Wand."

"I only need the wand to defeat Voldemort, yes?" James asked. "Dumbledore can keep it until then. That will keep him off our backs."

"There you go," Death said, "Destroy Voldemort, end the Great War, and reunite my Hallows. If this is done, I will guarantee you a long and happy life with your children, including Harry."

"Is that it then?" James said, "If we accept, you'll snap your fingers and we'll wake up in our seventeen year old bodies?"

"Well, I'm sure you have your own personal missions you'll want to complete," Death said, "Such as your parents?"

"Dad died in a car accident," Lily said, "That's easily preventable. Mum died of a heart condition a few months later. Tunie said she died of a broken heart, but I think Mum had a heart condition. With early diagnosis and care, she could live a lot longer."

"My parents were murdered by Voldemort," James said, "A couple months after Harry was born. If our plan goes correctly, Voldemort will be long dead by then."

"If you succeed in your mission, I will also give your parents a much longer life than they had," Death said. "Enough time to get to know all their grandchildren. What about Peter Pettigrew? If you haven't realized it yet, Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater at the time you died. He gave up the Secret of your location to Voldemort."

James frowned. "When does he become a Death Eater?"

"During the final Hogsmeade weekend of your Hogwarts education," Death said. "He attends a Junior Death Eater meeting in Hogsmeade."

"There must be something we missed," Lily said to James, "Something in Peter's behavior that changed him and made him attend the meeting."

"We'll keep an eye on him," James said.

"Very well," Death said, "Hmm, is there anything else I needed to tell you? Ah... keep an eye out for a crow. If a crow delivers you a message, it is from me. I might send you messages every now and then if something important comes up."

"Alright," James said.

"Well, alright then," Death said, "That is everything I wanted to tell you. What is your decision? Will the pair of you take up my offer?"

James and Lily looked at each other. When Lily nodded, James did too. He turned back to Death.

"We accept your offer," James said.

"Excellent," Death said. "Good luck, mortals. I'll be seeing you..."

Before James and Lily could reply, Death clapped together his bony hands. James immediately fell over as his vision went black, as next to him, Lily did the very same thing.

* * *

 **You can expect five more chapters of this… it is not the complete story of course, but it is all I have written of it, and I thought it was appropriate for "A Fable of Firsts".**

 **Also! Thanks to your reviews, I have been inspired to continue two of the stories in "A Fable of Firsts": "Once Upon A Time" and "A Seer's Power". Once I have written several chapters of both, I plan to begin publishing both stories. HOWEVER, in order to make sure I am still updating and focusing on the main story in my schedule, "Free Use Experience", I will only post chapters in those two stories, when I post a new chapter for Free Use Experience. Do not expect these two new stories in the near future however. They likely won't be published for at least a month, and maybe not before the beginning of September. Like I said, I am focused on "Free Use Experience" at the moment.**

 **Which reminds me: to those of you who keep asking me to update stories like "Vanishing Cabinet of Time", "Neko's Mate", "Harem War", and "Ilvermorny Champion", please stop doing so. I am not going to update those anytime in the near future for two reasons: 1) I am focused on other things, and 2) I have no inspiration for any of those stories at the current moment, so even attempting to update them is not possible at the moment. Please stop asking me to update them. Especially if you are intending on "advising" me to work on those stories instead of thinking about "Once Upon A Time" and "A Seer's Power" because I will not listen to you. I am sorry if I sound harsh, but I've had enough of people begging me to update stories, and criticizing me when I do not, even going as far as to insult me. This will not make me update any faster, and to be honest, it even makes me think of deleting said stories. Do you want that to happen? No? Then stop!**

 **Sorry, but since "guest reviewers" don't want to create an account, or log into one, so I can give these messages that way, I have to put it here. My apologies to those this does not apply to.**


	5. Death's Ultimatum, Part 2

**Chapter 2  
Seventeen Again**

 **Author's Note: The dates in this story do not follow the real calendar dates. In my story, Amelia Bones and Pandora Presley (Lovegood) are both Gryffindors. They were probably Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw respectively in canon.**

* * *

 **Saturday, October 31st, 1977 – Halloween**

Once again, James Potter found himself laying on his back, though this time when he woke up, the light in the room was not blinding. Also, he was laying on something quite comfortable instead of hard cement. He sat up and looked around. He recognized the room he was currently in. It was his bedroom in the Head Student Quarters, located across from Gryffindor Tower in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He could remember everything that had happened between that date, and four years into the future. He also remembered the long conversation with Death, and the missions Death had given him and his wife. James' eyes widened at the thought of his wife. He needed to go to her and see if she had really returned, as Death had promised.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his bedroom door. Before James could say anything, the door opened and Lily stepped into the room. She looked seventeen again, and looked impossibly sexy in her sleeping gown. Obviously she had woken up in her own bedroom.

"James," Lily said.

"Lily," James said. "Please tell me you remember everything."

"I miss our son, James," Lily said, looking teary-eyed, "I miss Harry."

"Come here, Tiger," James said, holding out his hands.

Lily gave him a watery smile, and walked over to his bed. She crawled into the bed and cuddled into his awaiting arms. She then kissed him passionately, and James grinned against her lips as he returned her kiss. Half-a-minute later, Lily backed away and cuddled up to him.

"I miss Harry too," James said, "But we'll see him again."

"Will we?" Lily asked, "This mission seems so impossible."

"We'll see Harry again, Lily," James repeated, "I promise you with all my heart and soul. We'll be a family again."

"All five of us," Lily said, moving a hand to her tummy.

"I'm not wishing to doubt Death or anything," James said, "But are you sure you're pregnant?"

"I just woke up, James," Lily said. "I haven't had time to experience any symptoms yet. But I think we should visit Madam Pomfrey, so I can take a Pregnancy Test Potion. Even if I don't have symptoms, I'm quite aware of what they are. I can explain it to Madam Pomfrey, and she'll believe me."

James sighed. "Well, the fact that you're pregnant is easy to explain. But how will we explain how you became pregnant? How will we explain our relationship that led to you becoming pregnant?"

"How about this?" Lily said. "The day you found out you were Head Boy, you wrote me a letter. You assumed, correctly, that I would be Head Girl. You also assumed, correctly, that we would be spending a lot of time together over the next several months. You invited me to have dinner in the Leaky Cauldron, but explicitly said that it wasn't a date. Just an opportunity to get to know each other better. I accepted the invitation, and we had a wonderful time. _I_ asked _you_ on another date."

"Oh, you asked me?" James asked.

"After the hundreds of times you asked me," Lily said, "I think it was my turn, don't you?"

James grinned. "I can't argue with that."

"But," Lily said, "I knew you would brag to your friends about it. I didn't want that to happen. I wanted you to show me that you weren't dating me just to fill your bucket list or something. I wanted to know you were serious about dating me. I made you promise that you wouldn't brag about finally dating me. Then you went as far as to promise you wouldn't tell your friends – _any_ of your friends – until I gave you permission. I agreed to do the same. I finally gave you permission recently."

"I distinctly remember excitedly telling my friends that I finally got a date with you," James said. "About three days before our Halloween Hogsmeade date."

"You and I discussed exactly how to tell them," Lily said.

"I like it," James said; then placed his hand on top of hers on her belly, "Now explain this."

"Three weeks and six dates after our first date," Lily said, "We spent the night in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. We had a wonderful passionate evening, and an equally passionate following morning."

"You can call it sex, Lily," James said, grinning.

"Fine," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "We had sex. More than once. We also had sex the night before we came to Hogwarts."

"And a couple times in between?" James suggested, "Because Merlin knows I probably wouldn't be able to wait so long after our first time."

"We had sex a few times," Lily said, "Probably would be best to explain it like that. Because it was one of those times when we conceived the babies currently inside me."

"I assume we continued this sexual relationship over the past couple of months?" James asked, then grinned, "You'd think I'd remember all this sex we had."

Lily chuckled. "I distinctly remember being a virgin the first time we had sex. And I distinctly remember that not happening until about two months from now. I can't have a hymen _and_ be pregnant. You're not _that_ potent."

"Maybe Death had something to do with that," James said.

"Maybe," Lily said, "Perhaps we should just make sure. Before we go see Madam Pomfrey. Wouldn't want her to discover I'm pregnant _and_ a virgin."

"We should make sure, huh?" James asked, "Does that mean you're saying we should –?"

" _Yes_ , James," Lily said, then pointed to a clock hanging on a nearby wall. "It is barely six-o-clock in the morning. We can spend some time together, then go see Madam Pomfrey to get my Potion, and we should be able to get down to the Great Hall in time to meet with our friends. Make love to me, James."

James grinned. He would never deny her that request. "Yes, love."

An hour later, after a wonderful session of passionate love-making, the couple were, once again, cuddled up on James' bed. They had discovered two things. One, Lily did not have a hymen oddly enough, and two, sex as seventeen year olds was as amazing as they had remembered.

"I'll say this, Mr. Potter," Lily said, "Even at seventeen, you know exactly how to make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world."

"You still make me feel like the luckiest bloke in the world, Mrs. Potter," James said.

"You still consider us married?" Lily asked, "Even though we're seventeen and students again?"

"Of course," James said, then frowned, "Why? You don't?"

"Of course I do," Lily said, "I just hoped you might propose to me again one day, and then we can once again have an amazing wedding."

"And an equally amazing honeymoon," James said.

"As long as it doesn't interfere with this mission of ours," Lily said.

James sighed. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Good," Lily said. "If I am two months pregnant, my due date should be in May. I don't want to waddle down the aisle."

"Do you want to get married before you give birth?" James said. "While we're still students?"

Lily shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I already see myself as Mrs. Potter. Being a Mum on our wedding day wouldn't be so bad. Our babies can be part of our wedding party."

"Post-Hogwarts wedding, it is," James said. "When should we tell our friends? About your pregnancy?"

"When I start showing," Lily said, "Or when my symptoms become noticeable. Whichever comes first. But first, we should go find out if I am pregnant."

"Alright," James said.

"I'll meet you in our Common Room after I'm finished getting dressed," Lily said.

"Deal," James said; then he leaned toward her and kissed her softly. "I love you, Lily."

"I love you too, James," Lily said.

The couple kissed for another half-a-minute before Lily backed away and crawled out of bed. James grinned as he admired his naked seventeen year old wife. He moaned softly as he got a lovely view when she bent over toward the floor to pick up her sleeping gown. Lily heard him, and she winked as she straightened herself.

"Like the view?" she asked.

"Love it," James said.

"No need to stare, James," Lily said, "You'll be seeing it every night. I'll be sleeping in here, of course."

"I would have complained if you had decided otherwise," James said.

Lily smiled. She wrapped herself in her gown, then turned and headed toward the door. She then blew him a kiss and left the room. James smiled to himself, thinking about exactly how lucky he was. Then he crawled out of bed, and proceeded to get dressed.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Lily stepped out of the Head Girl bedroom. She made her way toward the Head Student Common Room, where she found James waiting for her. Suddenly, she was hit with a wave of nausea. She hurried in the direction of the bathroom, barely registering James calling after her, and his hurried footsteps following her. When she arrived at the bathroom, she moved to her knees in front of the toilet, opened the lid and proceeded to vomit into the toilet bowl.

James moved behind her and lifted up her auburn hair. Once the vomiting and the wave of nausea had passed, she backed away from the toilet, and flushed it. Lily took her wand from her robes, and gave herself Cleaning and Breath-Freshening Charms.

"Well," James said, "I think we can safely assume you're pregnant."

"Yeah," Lily said. "But we still should go see Madam Pomfrey. Now I have an honest answer to tell her if and when she asks if I've showed any symptoms."

"Any urges to vomit again, love?" James asked.

"I'm fine, James," Lily said, as she moved to her feet. "Let's get going before our friends come searching for us."

James nodded. The couple made their way out of the Head Student Quarters located directly across from the portrait of the Fat Lady. Lily froze in her footsteps as a thought crossed her mind.

"Lily?" James asked. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," Lily said. "Sorry."

She followed James down the corridor as they started off in the direction of the Grand Staircase.

"Something wrong, Lily?" James asked, "For a moment there, I thought another wave of nausea hit."

"I realized something," Lily said, "Marlene. She's alive. Fabian, Gideon, Benjy, Edgar and Cynthia Bones. Everyone we lost. _Our parents._ They're alive, James. They're all alive."

James smiled. "And alive they'll remain. This time, we'll make sure of it."

Lily smiled and nodded. Twenty minutes later, they stepped into the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey, who had been attending to a younger student at the other end of the room, turned to them when she saw them, and bustled over to them.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," she said, "What can I do for you?"

Lily winced briefly at the mention of her original surname. "We need to speak to you. In private. Healer-Patient Confidentiality."

"Will you please join me in my office, dears?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

Lily and James agreed, and followed the nurse into her small office.

"Now, what is so important?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I believe I am pregnant," Lily said.

The mildly shocked look on the nurse's face made Lily wince again. She could almost read the nurse's mind. Head Girl Lily Evans? One of the most proper and well-behaved students in the castle? Pregnant?

"Have you shown any symptoms?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Nausea," Lily easily replied, "The latest episode less than half-an-hour ago."

"Skipped periods?" Madam Pomfrey said.

"Yeah," Lily said, "Possibly as many as two. Didn't think much about it until – well – today."

Lily based that on her first pregnancy, with Harry, which came as quite the shock.

"Who do you believe is the father?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

Lily glanced at James, who raised his hand slowly.

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey said, once again showing a shocked expression, "I wasn't aware you two had been dating -"

"We've been dating since early August," Lily said, "Kept it a secret from _everybody_ until now. Our friends don't even know. We plan to reveal our relationship today."

"Well, I have some prepared Pregnancy Test Potions on hand," Madam Pomfrey said, "As is required if the need becomes necessary. You drink the Potion – whilst on the toilet, mind you – then wait until you relieve yourself. If the color is yellow, you're not pregnant. If the color is blue or pink, you're pregnant, and you'll know the gender. Blue if it is a boy, pink if it is a girl."

Lily knew this, of course. But she didn't know if the Potion would tell her if she was having twins.

"What if it is twins... or more?" she asked, "Er... on the off-chance that happens?"

"Sky blue if twin boys, hot pink if twin girls," Madam Pomfrey said, "Green if one of each."

"Alright," Lily said, "I suppose I should get it over with."

"Of course," Madam Pomfrey said. "Stay here, Potter."

"Er... I'll be here when you're done then," James said.

Lily smiled. She followed Madam Pomfrey out of the office. The nurse retrieved a vial of Potion from one of her cabinets. She handed the vial to Lily, and Lily headed for the girl's restroom on the left side of the Hospital Wing. Lily pulled down her jeans and knickers, and sat down on the toilet. She gulped down the vial of potion and set the empty vial on the sink. Then she waited.

As she waited, she thought about the first time she had done this. Six months before she discovered she was pregnant with Harry, there was another time she thought she was pregnant. Back then, it turned out she wasn't. She and James discussed having children and whether or not they should wait. Neither knew exactly what they wanted. They agreed that if it happened, it happened. They weren't going to start focusing on using Contraception, nor would they focus on going without either. A few months later, Lily found out she was pregnant with Harry.

 _Harry._ Death had promised her and James that if they completed the missions he requested of them, he would reward them with giving them back Harry. They just needed to end the threat of Voldemort in less than two years. Harry had been conceived on Halloween night of 1979. That was their deadline. If November 1st, 1979 came, and Voldemort was still alive, they would lose Harry. Oh, they could have another baby boy, and call him Harry. But unless he was born on July 31st, 1980, he would not be the same Harry.

"Less than two years," Lily said, frowning, "Less than two years, all while I'm pregnant, then a mother. Couldn't have made it any easier, could you, Death?"

Two minutes later, Lily sighed as she relieved herself. When she finished, she inhaled and exhaled then stood up. She turned around and looked at the color...

"Green," Lily said, two minutes later, as she returned to Madam Pomfrey's office, where James was impatiently waiting. "We're having twins. One of each."

"Twins... boy and girl," James said, then inhaled and exhaled, "Brilliant."

"Is 'congratulations' a proper thing to say?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Lily said, "Very proper. Thank you."

"Yes," James said, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Congratulations then," Madam Pomfrey said, "Miss Evans, come see me this evening after the Halloween Feast, and we'll discuss this more thoroughly. We'll discover then when your due date is, and other important information. Mr. Potter, if you wish to join her, you are free to do so, of course. Do you have any questions right now?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said, "I'm planning on studying up on Animagi for my Transfiguration project. If I desired to attempt to become an Animagus, would it be wise during pregnancy?"

She had not become her Bengal Tiger Animagus until after Harry was born, so she was unsure about this information.

"Up until your seventh month of pregnancy, it is safe to experience Animagus transformations," Madam Pomfrey. "Apparation and Floo Travel are also okay until your seventh month."

"Alright," Lily said. "I want to keep this between the three of us for the immediate future. Until I start showing, or my symptoms become noticeable. Including from our friends and Professors. Would that be possible?"

"The Headmaster and Professors do not need to know until your pregnancy becomes noticeable," Madam Pomfrey said. "However, there are some Potions you won't be able to brew during your pregnancy. We'll discuss that this evening. I'll write you a note to give to Professor Slughorn. We can tell him it is allergies. Also, you're forbidden from participating in duels in Defense class. I'll write an additional note to Professor Gosling, and I'll figure out a medical reason by this evening."

"Alright," Lily repeated. "Are we excused, ma'am? We'd like to go to breakfast."

"Oh yes, go on," Madam Pomfrey said, "You need to eat extra now, Miss Evans. You're eating for three."

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said, "We'll see you this evening after the Feast."

James bid farewell, and the couple proceeded out of the Hospital Wing. Halfway down the corridor, when they were out of eavesdropping range, James grasped his wife's hand in his.

"Twins," he said, "A boy and girl. Brilliant."

Lily smiled. James sounded happier than he did in Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Can we do this, James?" Lily asked, in a low voice, "My pregnancy. Parents of twins. All while putting an end to Voldemort's threat? Harry is conceived two years from today, James. Can we do this in two years?"

"We have to, Lily," James said, "For Harry."

Lily nodded. "For Harry."

She pecked him on the lips, and squeezed his hand. The couple headed off back toward the direction of the Grand Staircase.

"Why did you ask the question about Animagi?" James asked.

"I want to join you and the Marauders during your Full Moon Runs," Lily said.

"Lily," James said, quietly, "You're pregnant -"

"I'm completely aware of that, James," Lily cut in. "You know very well that I'm not delicate! I'll be fine. My tiger is a tough animal."

"Shite," James muttered, "That reminds me. The Full Moon is this evening. How are we going to tell the guys that you're already an Animagus?"

"We'll be telling them about our relationship today, right?" Lily asked.

"I decided while – you know – you were taking a pee," James said, then grinned when Lily rolled her eyes, "that we could tell them, and your girlfriends, during a sit-down lunch in the Three Broomsticks. We'll rent a private room from Rosmerta, and tell all our friends about our relationship. However, your Animagus... well, we can't tell your girlfriends yet. They don't know about the Marauders and I just yet."

"How about this?" Lily asked. "I leave a few minutes behind you guys, and I'll follow your scent. When I appear, you make sure Moony is tame and calm. Then I'll reveal who I am."

James sighed. "I'll think about it. If I can't come up with a better idea, we'll go along with that one."

"Alright," Lily said.

Once they arrived at the Grand Staircase, they let go of each other's hands, mindful to keep their relationship a secret for just a little while longer. When they arrived at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, they found that none of their friends had arrived yet. So they sat down together at the end of the table where the seventh years usually sat, and started filling their plates.

Not two minutes later, Lily's girlfriends – and former dorm-mates – arrived together. Lily's eyes went misty when she saw Marlene McKinnon. She could still remember when she found out about her friend's death. She blinked the tears from her eyes, so her friends wouldn't notice. She could probably blame it on early pregnancy hormones, and she knew she needed to keep those symptoms calm lest her friends discover her pregnancy before she was ready to reveal it.

Marlene and Pandora Lovegood – _Presley,_ Lily reminded herself, _She won't be Lovegood until next summer! –_ sat down on Lily's other side, while Amelia Bones, and Alice Smythe sat across from her. Alice was joined by her future husband, Frank Longbottom.

"Surprised to see you sitting next to Potter, Lily," Amelia said, grinning, from across the table.

Lily smiled softly, and gave her ready-made explanation. "I'm going on a date with him, remember? I'm here to make sure nobody else decides they want to try to claim him instead."

"Ooh, Evans," Marlene said, "I can clearly remember when you would pray someone else asked James to Hogsmeade, so he wouldn't ask you _again._ "

"That didn't help much, if I recall," Pandora said, "Even if he had a date, James would _still_ try to ask Lily out."

"What made you finally accept a date with him?" Frank asked.

Before Lily could answer, she was interrupted by the other three members of the Marauders joining the table. Remus sat next to James, while Sirius and Peter sat down across the table. Sirius made sure to sit down next to Amelia.

"James, when did Unforgivable Curses become legal?" Sirius asked.

"Pardon, mate?" James replied.

"I'm wondering when the Imperius Curse became legal," Sirius said, "Because I'm trying to figure out how you convinced Evans to sit next to you."

"The same way I finally earned a date with her," James said, "She asked me."

Sirius barked out a laugh, and Lily smiled.

"Wait," Frank said, "You asked him, Lily?"

"I plead temporary insanity," Lily joked.

All of their friends snickered. Lily winked at James, and he smiled softly.

"Actually," Lily said, "I'd be happy to tell you the real story. But not here at breakfast. James offered to rent a private room at the Three Broomsticks, and all of you are invited to join us for lunch. Say... one-o-clock?"

"Really?" Marlene asked, "That doesn't sound like a very romantic lunch-date, what with all of us there butting in."

"We'll have the rest of the visit for romance," Lily said.

"Alright, James," Sirius said, "Stop hiding the Felix Felicis."

"Only if you stop being so immature," James said, grinning.

Sirius' jaw dropped. Then he grumbled under his breath, and turned to Amelia.

"What say you, Bones?" Sirius asked. "Do you have a date today?"

"I'm waiting for the right person to ask me," Amelia said.

"Would you like to join me?" Sirius asked.

Amelia shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do. Sure, it's a date, Black."

Lily smiled in Amelia's direction. She did recall that Amelia and Sirius became a couple that day. In hers and James' future, the pair had a relationship for several months. However, at James and Lily's wedding, Sirius had proposed to Amelia, and Amelia had said no. Her official reason was because she couldn't be with Sirius if he was part of the Order of the Phoenix. It was around that time when she started her apprenticeship at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and she couldn't be associated with the unofficial group. Lily hoped she might be able to change that this time. She thought Amelia and Sirius were a wonderful couple.

Pandora's voice broke Lily's reverie. "You sure have a lot of food on your plate there, Lily."

Lily winced. She had piled more food than usual to support her pregnancy.

"I suppose I'm just more hungry than usual today," Lily said, making up an excuse.

"Oh," Pandora said. "I'm afraid I must decline the group lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Xenophilius is meeting me in Hogsmeade today. I don't get to see him often while I'm here at Hogwarts, and I want to spend the whole day with him. Just me and him."

"I completely understand, Panda," Lily said, using her nickname for her friend. "You enjoy your time with him. I'll tell you the story another time."

"I look forward to it," Pandora said, smiling.

Lily echoed her friend's smile. As she continued eating her meal, she noticed Severus Snape looking in her direction from the Slytherin Table on the far side of the Great Hall. When she caught him looking, he turned his gaze away from her and looked at his fellow Slytherins.

She hadn't thought about Severus at all since she and James had come back in time. The last time she had seen him, he had been wearing a Death Eater mask, and had been hers and James opposition alongside fellow Death Eaters in a battle. That was before she had discovered she was pregnant with Harry. She had not participated in a battle since she had become pregnant with Harry.

However, the battle had not been the last time she had heard from her former best friend. Severus had written her a letter after Harry was born. He had wanted to speak to her face-to-face. James was afraid it was a trap, and Lily had agreed with him. She didn't contact Severus or hear from him again.

Now, looking at Severus, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do about him. She knew that he was already a Junior Death Eater and would be joining Voldemort's ranks officially once he finished his education at Hogwarts. The last time, Severus had avoided her altogether whilst at Hogwarts after her relationship with James became public. She knew when her pregnancy became public news, Severus' negative feelings toward her would only worsen.

It was impossible, she realized. There was nothing at all she could do to repair their friendship. She didn't know what would happen to Severus once she and James defeated Voldemort. She only hoped Severus survived the end of Voldemort's terrible reign.

James nudged Lily softly with his arm and Lily looked at him.

"You alright?" James said, softly.

Lily nodded silently. Then she realized, as she looked at James, that something was bothering him.

"Are you?" she asked.

James frowned. "I'll tell you later."

Lily nodded again. With her free hand, she placed it under the table, and grasped James' hand in hers. James smiled and squeezed her hand. She gave a soft smile in reply and continued eating her meal. She remained silent, as she listened to her friends discussions. As much as she missed Harry, she knew she would see her son again. For now, she needed to focus on her pregnancy and her pending role as a mother of twins. In addition, there was the mission to destroy Voldemort. She and James would fight tooth, wand and nail to make sure their mission succeeded. Not just for Harry, but for their twins, their friends, and their parents.


	6. Death's Ultimatum, Part 3

**Chapter 3  
Secrets Revealed**

 **Saturday, October 31st, 1977 – Halloween**

At half-past-ten, Lily and James walked out of the front entrance of the castle, and headed in the direction of the carriages. As she approached the carriages, Lily realized she could see the black, skeletal winged horses hitched to each of the carriages.

"Thestrals," Lily breathed, "James -"

"I can see them too, Lily," James said, softly. "They can only be seen by those who have seen Death. At least it is good to know Death has a sense of humor, huh?"

"Yeah," Lily said.

She tore her gaze from the Thestrals, and climbed into one of the carriages. James followed her in and sat down beside her.

"James?" Lily asked, "You never told me what was bothering you at breakfast."

"Two things were bothering me," James said. "The first – Wormtail. He was sitting there, without a care in the world. If Death is correct, he'll join the Death Eaters sometime next year. Voldemort attacked us, because Peter gave him the Secret. We trusted him, Lily."

"It won't happen this time," Lily said.

"Which part, Lily?" James asked, "Wormtail giving Voldemort the Secret of our location? Damn right it won't happen. What about Wormtail joining the Death Eaters? Are you sure that won't happen?"

"We can stop it, James," Lily said. "We can help Pete. We can help him keep from going down that path."

"How?" James asked.

"I don't know yet," Lily said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," James muttered.

"What was the other thing that was bothering you?" Lily asked.

"What happened on our first date, Lily?" James replied, "What happened on this day?"

Lily thought back to the first time she had experienced this. She and James had spent much of the time walking around the village, exploring the shops, but not buying very much. James had bought her some candy at Honeydukes – it had been her favorite, and she was rather surprised he had picked her favorite the first time. They had a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks. James had planned on bringing her to the Shrieking Shack. But they never made it. Why hadn't they made it? Something had happened that prevented them from going.

It was then that Lily remembered. She knew exactly what was bothering James.

"Voldemort, Death Eaters," Lily said, her eyes wide, "They attack Hogsmeade today! James, we have to warn everyone!"

"How?" James asked. "Someone is bound to ask us how we could possibly know Death Eaters are attacking today. How can we answer that question, without telling them the truth? That is what was bothering me, Lily. We know there will be an attack on Hogsmeade today, and we can't do anything to prevent it."

"No, we can't," Lily said, "But we can fight them."

"Lily," James said.

"Don't, James," Lily growled, "Don't say it. I know I'm pregnant. I already told you, I'm not delicate. You and I – we're the only two on our side of the battle who knows what is going to happen today. I promised you once that I would always be by your side if I could manage it. I can manage it today."

"If anything happens to you," James said, "To our twins. I swear to Merlin, I'll -"

"I'm not going to let anything happen, James," Lily said, "And neither will you. Right?"

"Of course," James said.

"Then I'll be fine," Lily said. "When does the attack take place? Do you remember?"

James adopted a look of concentration. "Half-past-three. I think they timed it to arrive exactly at that time. I remember, because I had planned to be with you at Hogsmeade until five-o-clock, and those bastards stole over an hour of that from us."

"Half-past-three," Lily said. "Plenty of time. We can have a regular date, then meet our friends in the Three Broomsticks. After lunch, we'll hatch a plan of attack."

"We could set up a few traps," James said, "I can purchase a few things from Zonko's to assist us."

"And I'll purchase some rune-stones," Lily said.

"I do love your rune traps," James said, grinning.

"Last time, the attack was devastating because it was a surprise attack," Lily said. "This time we can be ready. We can surprise them."

"A good opening attack to the eventual end of the war," James said.

Their conversation was cut off as they heard giggling. A laughing Amelia Bones stepped into the carriage.

"Beat you, Black!" she exclaimed.

"I let you win, Bones," Sirius said, outside the carriage.

Sirius stepped into the carriage and sat down beside Amelia, across from Lily and James.

"How did you know we were in here, Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Marauder secret, Evans," Sirius said, "Maybe if you become James' official girlfriend, we might let you in on some of those secrets."

"Extra incentive, huh?" Lily asked.

"Exactly!" Sirius said.

"I see," Amelia said, "Putting up with your shenanigans has its own rewards, does it?"

"More than you can imagine, Bones," Sirius said, "Maybe I'll show you sometime."

"Maybe I'll let you," Amelia said, smiling. "If you behave."

"An impossible challenge, that one," Lily said.

"Hardy har-har, you're a funny one, Evans," Sirius said; he turned to James. "Remus and Pete are getting another carriage, James. Told them this was a couples-only carriage. They did promise they'd meet us for lunch at the Three Broomsticks."

The carriage jolted into movement and started its journey to Hogsmeade village.

"So, James," Amelia said, "You've finally gotten the date you wanted for years now. Now that you got it, what are your plans?"

"If you recall, Lily was the one who asked me," James said. "It is her call what we do."

"We'll just see where the day takes us," Lily said.

"Hopefully it will be a date to remember," Amelia said.

"I'm pretty sure it will be," Lily said, thinking about the upcoming Death Eater attack.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Lucky bloke you are, James."

James smiled at Lily. "Don't I know it."

"What about you, Sirius?" Lily asked. "You're the one that asked Amelia."

"I figured we'll just play it by ear," Sirius said. "Plans are overrated anyway."

"I agree," Amelia said, "At least when it comes to dates. More exciting that way."

Sirius grinned. "Always up for some excitement."

While the carriage made its way to Hogsmeade Village, Lily and James enjoyed some random, innocent conversation with their friends. At one point, Amelia asked Lily if she was ready for the Defense exam on Monday. It was only then that Lily realized she had forgotten one crucial detail of the reality she and James now found themselves in: they had to experience classes, lessons, and ultimately the NEWT exams, all over again!

When the carriage arrived at Hogsmeade, the two couples parted ways. Lily took James' hand and they started making their way down the cobbled pathway of the village.

"Looks like we know what we're doing tomorrow," Lily said.

"Hmm?" James asked.

"Focusing on our education," Lily said, "You can't tell me you remember everything concerning our classes at this moment in time."

"Right," James said, "I suppose we should figure that out, huh? We can focus on that tomorrow. Between our date, lunch with our friends, the Death Eater attack, the Halloween Feast, meeting with Madam Pomfrey again, and the Full Moon Run, we have plenty to do today."

Lily chuckled. "Well, I can't argue with you there."

"So what should we do?" James asked. "You lead us around, but I'm paying for everything."

"James," Lily said.

"What's mine is yours, Lily," James said, smiling, "Remember?"

Lily could never refuse when James gave her his charming smile.

"Alright," she said.

The first stop they made was at the Three Broomsticks. They spoke to Madam Rosmerta, and reserved a private room for a group lunch at one-o-clock. Madam Rosmerta accepted the reservation and James paid for the room.

For the next couple of hours, Lily and James explored the village. They visited Honeydukes, where they each bought a bag of assorted chocolates and candy. They also visited Zonko's Joke Shop, where James bought several items, many of which would assist them with defending Hogsmeade from the Death Eaters. Among other shops, they also stopped by a quaint little shop called Roslyn's Runes, where Lily bought several different versions of blank rune stones, as well as a knife designated for carving runes into the stones.

Every time they encountered one of their friends who were invited to the group lunch, they informed them of the private room number, and the time to be there.

When it was nearing one-o-clock, Lily and James returned to the Three Broomsticks. As they passed by Madam Rosmerta, she informed them that the room was ready, and she would be with them shortly to take their lunch orders. James thanked her, and led Lily to the room. As they arrived, they found they were the first there. The room was simple, but elegant. There was a large table with wrap-around seating, in case couples wanted to sit close to each other while they ate. Several menus were positioned on the table. Lily and James sat down at the table. Lily remained at the edge of the seat, just in case her pregnancy symptoms appeared and she had to go to the bathroom.

"James?" Lily asked, "Do you think we should tell our friends about the situation we're dealing with? Maybe not today, but eventually."

"Before or after the mission is done?" James said.

"Whenever," Lily said, shrugging. "If the timeline remains the same in the near future, Albus will likely invite us into the Order of the Phoenix before we leave Hogwarts. The Order could help us."

"Death didn't forbid us to get help with our mission," James said.

"Yet," Lily said, "He said he might contact us again."

"Until he tells us otherwise," James said, "We assume we can ask for help with our mission. But as you said, we shouldn't do it today. Eventually we can. If we feel we need help."

"Alright," Lily said, nodding.

At that moment, Marlene, Alice and Frank arrived. Soon followed by Sirius and Amelia, then Remus and Peter. As they arrived, they sat down at the table.

"Feel free to choose what you want to eat," James said, "It's on me."

When their friends started saying he didn't need to do that, James raised his hands to quell them.

"It's on me," James repeated.

A couple minutes after everyone started looking at the menus, Madam Rosmerta walked in. She took their orders, and summoned their requested drinks. Then she promised their meals would be ready in fifteen minutes, and left the room.

"Alright, Lily," Marlene said, "You invited us all here for a reason. Care to tell us why we're here?"

"We're starting with that, huh?" Lily said. "Alright then. Contrary to what any of you believe, this isn't mine and James' first date together. We've been keeping secrets from all of you."

"All of us?" Sirius asked, "James! We don't keep secrets from one another."

"Would you please listen to the story?" James asked. "You'll understand by the end."

"It better be good," Sirius muttered.

Lily winced slightly when their friends agreed with Sirius.

"At the end of July," Lily said, "on the day the book-lists arrived for this school year, the day I found out I was named Head Girl, I also received another letter later that same day. It was from James. He told me that he was named Head Boy. He said that since we would be spending a lot of time together this year, we should get to know each other better. So he invited me to dinner at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Couldn't pass up another opportunity to ask Evans on a date, could you, James?" Sirius asked.

"I never specifically said it was a date," James said. "I knew if I did, she would probably decline. I made it perfectly clear it was just a sit-down dinner, where we could discuss our duties as the Head students. However, I was honest with you when I said that Lily asked me on a date."

"What can I say?" Lily said, "I enjoyed myself that evening. So I asked James on a date. However, I gave him an ultimatum. He could not brag about it to his friends. I could just picture him visiting you, Sirius, immediately after and announcing he has a date with me."

Sirius laughed. "She does know you, doesn't she, James?"

"Sometimes I think she knows me better than I do," James said.

"If I was going to start dating him," Lily continued, "I wanted to know it wouldn't be a waste of my time. Back then, I thought the same thing I was thinking every single time he asked me out. That I was just a notch on his belt, a checkmark on his bucket list or something. I told James that, if we started dating, he couldn't tell his friends until I was comfortable enough with it. I even promised to tell none of _my friends._ "

Marlene huffed. "You enjoyed yourself. I told you so, Lily. I told you if you gave James a chance, you'd find you'd like being with him."

"Yes, yes, you earned your 'I told you so'," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway. Over the month of August, we had two dates a week. Neither of us used any labels like 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'. We were just testing the waters. Then I decided Hogsmeade weekend on Halloween would be the proper time to reveal our relationship."

"Okay," Remus said, "I distinctly remember James bragging to us about him finally getting the opportunity to date you, Lily. But you just said you didn't want him to do that."

"James and I planned that," Lily said. "I gave him permission to be his usual self when telling his mates about his date. If he was calm and cool about it, you might have noticed something. After all, he finally got what he wanted all these years. Why wouldn't he be thrilled?"

"Why did it take you so long to finally decide to tell us?" Alice asked, "You've been dating for what – three months now?"

"We could have told you on the first of September," Lily said, "But we wanted to have some time to ourselves. We knew that once it became news in Hogwarts, we'd be dealing with all the gossip about us. We wanted to wait as long as possible."

"Today is the first Hogsmeade weekend, and we knew we'd spend it together," James said, "So we decided today would be the right opportunity."

"There's something else," Marlene said. "Something you're not telling us."

Once again, Lily winced. There was not just one thing they weren't telling their friends but _two._ Two very big secrets.

"Perhaps," James said, "But we're allowed to have our secrets, aren't we?"

"Oh, let them have their secrets," Alice said, "They're finally together. Let them enjoy it."

"Yeah," Frank agreed with his girlfriend, "Lily's right after all. The rumor mill will get hold of it before too long, and they won't get to enjoy the exclusivity of their relationship."

"Oh, alright," Marlene said. "I just can't believe you were able to keep it secret so long. Usually I can read you like an open book, and I would never have guessed this. I mean, you could have kept this a secret, and I would have thought you'd have started dating today."

Lily smiled. Given that the story was entirely a fabrication, she wasn't surprised Marlene had said that.

Over the next hour, as the group of friends ate their meals, they discussed several topics. When their friends tried to get them to give up some more details, Lily and James reminisced about some of their real dates. Only, those dates originally took place many months into the future from that moment in time.

An hour into the lunch meeting, Lily felt another wave of nausea rising from her stomach. She excused herself from the table, left the room and headed for the direction of the nearest bathroom. When she found it was empty, she hurried into the stall, and shut the door behind her. She knelt down at the toilet bowl, and vomited into it. When she finished, she sat back on her haunches.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps enter the bathroom.

"It's occupied!" Lily said.

"Lily? It's Marlene," Marlene said, "Are you alright?"

Lily groaned under her breath. This is exactly what she didn't need. "Yeah, I'm -"

Before she could continue, another wave of nausea overwhelmed her, and she vomited again.

"Lily?!" Marlene said, concerned.

Marlene opened the stall's door, as Lily finished, flushed and moved to sit down on the toilet. Lily took a wad of toilet paper from the roll and wiped off her mouth with it.

"I'm fine, Marlene," she said. "I'm – ah –"

Marlene looked at her, questioningly. Lily groaned, cursing her friend's ability to read her like an open book. She needed to tell Marlene, especially if she was going to have any control over whether Marlene kept it a secret or not.

"The truth is," she said, "I'm pregnant, Marlene."

Marlene's eyes widened. "Bloody hell, Lily. Really?"

"Really," Lily echoed; then she started the other tale she and James had fabricated. "Middle of August, James and I – we started having sex. Between mid- and late-August, I guess I forgot to use Contraceptive, and well – here I am. Roughly two months pregnant."

"Does James know?" Marlene asked, "He's the father, right?"

"Of course he is!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you really think I'd – really, Marlene!"

"Sorry," Marlene said, with a wince, "Stupid question."

"Yes, James knows," Lily said. "He was there with me this morning in the Hospital Wing when we found out. I took a Pregnancy Test Potion, and it was the correct color. We're supposed to meet with Madam Pomfrey tonight to discuss more details. Probable due date, and other stuff."

"Pregnant," Marlene said, "You're the last person I expected to be in this situation while still in Hogwarts, Evans!"

Lily merely smiled. "I know. Goody two-shoes Lily Evans. Marlene, I didn't intend for you to find out this way. James and I wish to keep this a secret for now. Besides you, only Madam Pomfrey knows. Nobody else. We're not telling our friends nor Headmaster Dumbledore nor our Professors yet. Not until I start showing, or my symptoms become noticeable."

"I noticed, didn't I?" Marlene asked.

"Did you?" Lily replied, smiling.

"No," Marlene said, sighing, "I came in here to gossip. Ironically, I wanted to know if you and James were having sex yet. I thought that might have been what you weren't telling us. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted if you promise to keep it secret," Marlene said, "From _everybody."_

"Only discuss it with you and James," Marlene said. "Got it. I probably would have noticed sooner rather than later, you know. My older sister's pregnant. I think I told you that. I was witness to her symptoms all summer."

Lily nodded, as her eyes became misty. Marlene's sister, her husband and her little boy were killed with Marlene and her family in the middle of 1981.

"You alright, Lily?" Marlene asked.

Lily wiped her eyes. "Yeah. Hormones."

Marlene giggled. "You're going to be a Mum, Lily. Have you thought about that? Ooh, maybe not yet, since you just discovered it this morning."

"No, I've actually given it some thought," Lily said. "I think I'll be a good Mum. And James will be a brilliant Daddy."

"Have you two talked about things?" Marlene asked. "You know... marriage?"

"I'm sure it will come up soon," Lily said.

"Right," Marlene said, "Sorry. I'm gossiping, aren't I? No more questions. I promise."

Lily chuckled. She stood up, situated her clothing, and checked herself over. She cast Cleaning and Breath-Freshening Charms, then followed Marlene out of the stall. When they left the bathroom, they found James leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. James looked at Marlene for a moment, then looked at Lily.

"Bugger," James said, "She knows, doesn't she?"

"She knows," Lily said. "Walked in mid-vomit."

"Sorry," James said, "She excused herself, and it took me a moment to realize where she was going. I realized what you might be doing and – she was in the bathroom before I could do anything. Damn gender-exclusive privacy charms prevented me from following her."

"I'm sorry," Marlene moaned. "I promised her I'd keep it a secret."

"It's alright, Marlene," Lily said. "Really. But we need to go back before the others get curious."

Marlene nodded, and they headed back toward the private room. Lunch ended less than half-an-hour later, and the large group started to split up. Marlene, Lily and James were the last ones in the room. Lily waved her wand toward the door, and cast a silent Muffliato Charm.

"Alright, Marlene," Lily said, "I can tell that you want to know more. I placed privacy charms on the door, so there is no risk of anyone eavesdropping."

"I promise I won't tell anybody until you give me permission," Marlene said.

"Good," James said, "Because we were planning on keeping this a secret for a while longer."

"Until she starts showing," Marlene said. "Lily told me. What else can you tell me?"

"Well," Lily said, "As I said, we won't know much else until we speak with Madam Pomfrey. However, I can tell you this. When I took the Pregnancy Test Potion, my – you know – pee turned green. That means I'm pregnant with twins – a boy and a girl."

"Twins?" Marlene asked, grinning. "Bloody hell. Well, at least it is one of each. If you're lucky, they won't be complete pranksters like the Prewett twins. Wait – scratch that. Given who their Daddy is... you're doomed, Evans. You should have torn up James' letter before you read it."

"Nah," Lily said, "I wouldn't have changed anything. The path we've gone down led us here."

James smiled, obviously seeing the hidden meaning in that statement.

Marlene swooned. "You two are so cute. Oh! I call dibs on being godmother!"

"Do you know what it means to be a godparent?" James asked. "Godparents become guardians if the child's parents die. We have no intentions on dying, McKinnon!"

Lily grasped James' hand under the table and squeezed it. She could tell he was titchy about dying in the first place.

James sighed. "Sorry, Marlene. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"No, it's alright, James," Marlene said, "I shouldn't have said that. Besides, I'm probably better as the crazy Aunt, right? You two are being very... calm about all of this, you know. Due date will likely be around May, if my calculations are right. You two will still be students! Not to mention teenage parents. Of twins! I'd be going mental, if I was in your position."

Lily admitted that Marlene had a good point. From Marlene's perspective, this was Lily and James' first time as parents. When in reality, they had already been parents for fifteen months, and had most of Lily's original pregnancy to prepare for it.

"Maybe that just means we'll be brilliant parents," James said, "Because we're not going mental."

Marlene snorted. "Or maybe you're just in shock. I'll see how you feel _after_ you have your discussion with Madam Pomfrey."

"Ten Galleons says we're still calm and cool," James said.

"You have yourself a deal, Potter," Marlene said.

Lily rolled her eyes. She then glanced at the clock. It was nearing two-thirty. The Death Eater attack would happen in an hour or so, and they still needed to prepare a counter-attack.

"Look at the time!" Lily said, as she got to her feet, "Come on, James. We have a few more things to do in Hogsmeade before we're done."

James' eyes widened slightly as he looked at the clock.

"Right," he said. "Things to do. We'll see you later, McKinnon."

James and Lily grabbed their shopping bags and headed out of the private room. James paid the bill to Madam Rosmerta, then he and Lily headed back out into the village.

"One hour until showtime," James said.

"Plenty of time," Lily said, "Let's get ready. But we need to be careful, James. Can't let anyone discover us setting up the counter-attack. Especially Junior Death Eaters."

"Right," James said, nodding. "Let's do this then."

Lily inhaled and exhaled. The mission was about to officially begin. This would be the true beginning of the end of Voldemort's threat.


	7. Death's Ultimatum, Part 4

**Chapter 4  
Attack and Counter-Attack**

 **Warning: Violence. Minor Unnamed Character Deaths.**

* * *

 **Saturday, October 31st, 1977 – Halloween**

James pulled his pocket-watch from the pocket of his jeans, and flipped open the door. Five minutes till half-past-three. If his memory served correctly, the first of the Death Eaters arrived at exactly half-past-three the last time, and there was no reason to think this time would be any different.

"Five minute warning, Lily," James said to his wife in a sing-song voice, "Please tell me you're finished."

"Don't distract me, James," Lily said, "I just need a little more time."

"You have three minutes," James said, "That will give us an additional minute to get into position."

James and Lily were currently standing at the entrance gates of Hogsmeade Village, on the opposite side of the village from Hogsmeade station and the path that led from the village back to Hogwarts. They had chosen this position because most Hogwarts students never came anywhere near these gates as they explored the village. If the Death Eaters entered through these gates, they would have to head straight into the village. The nearest buildings had full view of the gate, and anyone in those buildings would be able to see the Death Eaters. This would give the villagers and visitors plenty of warning before the Death Eaters could begin their attack.

To ensure the Death Eaters entered from these gates was the hard part, however. Lily had to construct runes that specifically limited all Apparation to the area only near the gates. That was exactly what she was doing now.

Over the past hour, James and Lily had been preparing their counter-attack. Portable swamps and other prank items from Zonko's Joke Shop were situated in specific spots around the village. Lily had placed runes near each prank planted so that she could control the exact moment they activated, so that innocent students and villagers didn't set them off.

In addition to the prank traps, Lily had made several rune traps as well. Vine Traps, Stun Traps, and other various rune traps that would stop the Death Eaters, but wouldn't cause too much damage to Hogsmeade itself, had been planted around the village. Like the prank traps, these were also controlled by time-activated runes.

In addition to his pranks, James also had several fireworks on his person, ready to set off. These fireworks would provide distraction, as well as warning, and perhaps – if it came to it – offensive attacks as well.

"Lily," James warned.

"One – more – second, James!" Lily said, "Sticking Charm. There. Got it! I think it will work!"

"Fine!" James said, "We need to go!"

James grabbed Lily's arm and they took off toward a row of hedges near the closest building to the gates. James and Lily had already planned that this area would be their front line of attack. They had cast several protective enchantments near it. They would be able to cast spells from the area, but most spells wouldn't be able to pass through the protective enchantments toward them.

As James and Lily arrived at the hedges, they heard a familiar voice.

"Prongs, Evans!" Sirius said. "There you are! What are you two lovebirds up to?"

James cursed under his breath when he saw Sirius and Amelia.

"Get over here, you two!" James said, "Now!"

"You sound afraid of something, James," Amelia said, "What's going on? Why are you –?"

Amelia's question was cut off by the sound of multiple _cracks_ of Apparation.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Sirius asked.

"Get over here before I summon you, god damn it!" James ordered.

Sirius and Amelia ran over behind the hedges and hid next to James and Lily. James put a finger to his lips to hush Sirius and Amelia. He raised up slowly and looked toward the gates. At least six figures in hoods and cloaks were standing there. From where he stood, James could tell they were confused as to why they were all standing in the same area.

"It worked, Lily," James said.

"Those are Death Eaters!" Amelia said. "What the bloody hell are they doing here?

"I doubt they're here to go shopping, Amelia!" James growled; he took several fireworks from his robes and threw them on the ground in front of Lily, Sirius and Amelia, "Set these off! Now! We need to warn everybody!"

James pointed his wand at the firework he was holding, and pointed the firework in the air. Multiple fireworks shot high into the air and exploded, creating sounds of chaos. Lily, Sirius and Amelia started doing the same.

"They're giving off battle sounds," Amelia said, "Not colors."

"Yeah," James said, "I'm hoping they'll scare off most of the students and villagers and send them running toward Hogwarts. Only those brave enough to fight will come this way."

"Hush!" Lily said, "Listen!"

"What the bloody hell is that?!" a voice screamed, and James knew it was one of the Death Eaters, "This was supposed to be a surprise attack!"

"Then surprise them!" a voice familiar to James and his friends, screamed, "Attack!"

"Bloody hell," Sirius groaned, "That's Bellatrix."

"Showtime," James said. "Lily -"

"I know, James," Lily said, "I'll be careful. I promise."

"I was going to ask whether you've activated the rune traps yet, love," James said.

"Rune traps?" Sirius asked.

"Right," Lily said; she removed a rune stone from the pocket of her robes and pointed her wand at it, "Traps activated."

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Sirius demanded. "It is like you knew this was going to happen!"

"Not now!" James growled. "If you're not going to help us fight back, stay out of sight!"

"I'm not letting you go out there alone, mate!" Sirius said.

"Wait for my signal then!" James said.

James crept toward the end of the hedgerow. Five of the six Death Eaters were making their way toward the direction of the main area of the village. The last one was remaining behind near the gates. Their long black hair could be seen in the front of their hood, and James realized it was Bellatrix Lestrange.

Suddenly, a Portable Swamp appeared in the center of the cobbled path, directly in front of the lead Death Eater. The Death Eater screamed as he sank into it up to his waist. Unfortunately, the other Death Eaters were able to stop before they, too, stepped into the swamp.

"Lily, come here!" James said.

Lily crept over to James and leaned over so she could see what was going on.

"I guarantee at least one of the Death Eaters is going to try to help the one in the swamp," James said, "I'll aim for the one assisting them, and you aim for the one in the swamp."

"Won't the one in the swamp drown if Stunned?" Lily asked.

"Lily, we're not here to take prisoners," James said, "Disable them, or worse, so they can't get back up."

Lily nodded.

"Sirius, Amelia," James said, "Get ready to attack."

Sirius and Amelia nodded. James turned back toward the Death Eaters, and found that one was indeed moving to help their trapped friend. The other three were looking around confused, wondering where the swamp had come from.

"Now!" James ordered, in a hushed whisper.

James sent a Bludgeoning Curse at the Death Eater attempting to save his friend. Lily sent a Stunning Spell at the swamped Death Eater. Both curses hit on target. The Stunned Death Eater fell backward into the swamp and vanished under the murky water. The Bludgeoned Death Eater fell over onto the ground. James wasn't sure if they were unconscious or dead.

"The spells came from that direction!" one of the Death Eaters screamed.

Several curses, hexes and spells came in a barrage from the three Death Eaters toward the hedge. However, the protective enchantments were holding up.

"Now!" James growled.

James, Lily and Sirius started casting offensive spells in the direction of the Death Eaters. Amelia cast shield charms around her three friends. When one of the Death Eaters went down, due to a Cutting Curse from James, the others turned and started retreating back toward the gate. James, Lily, and Sirius then cast more spells toward the retreating Death Eaters, and they both went down before they could reach the gate. Bellatrix screamed in rage as she discovered her team of Death Eaters had been defeated.

However, she didn't Apparate away in retreat. To James' horror, Bellatrix cast a Blasting Charm at the gates, and they blew up. He then realized... there had been a lot more than six Death Eaters during the original attack.

"Shite!" James growled, "Bellatrix disabled the Anti-Apparation Runes! This isn't over! There's more coming."

Not a moment later, _cracks_ of Apparation were heard around the village. Screams of terror could be heard from various locations.

"Come on!" James said, "We have to help!"

James led Lily, Sirius and Amelia out from behind the hedge. Immediately, he saw Bellatrix Lestrange walking slowly and cautiously down the road, her wand pointed forward.

"Bellatrix!" Sirius snarled.

Bellatrix turned toward them and cackled. "Cousin Sirius! Join the Dark Lord or die today!"

"Never!" Sirius growled.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix snarled.

Amelia stepped in front of Sirius, and was hit with the Torture Curse meant for him. She fell to the ground, and started screaming as she shook violently. Sirius growled loudly and started sending curses and hexes in Bellatrix's direction. James and Lily joined in, intending on overwhelming Bellatrix. Bellatrix went on the defensive instead of offense. She screamed loudly when she realized she couldn't win, and vanished via Apparation.

"Amelia!" Sirius said, as he immediately knelt near her.

"Stay with her, Sirius," James said, "We're going to join the battle."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, "Maybe Evans -"

"I'm not letting Lily out of my sight!" James growled.

There was a sudden explosion coming from somewhere down the road.

"They're trying to blow up buildings!" Sirius exclaimed.

"No," Lily said, "That was one of my rune traps. What do you think, James? Animagi?"

"We'll get there faster," James said, nodding.

Lily dropped her shopping bags then transformed immediately into a large Bengal Tiger, her Animagus.

"Lily?!" Sirius gaped, "She – James – Lily?"

"I'll explain later, Padfoot!" James said, grinning.

As he dropped the fireworks and shopping bags, a thought came to his mind. There was an easy way to save face for him and Lily when it came to keeping their time travel secret for a while longer. Sirius turned back to Amelia, and James pointed his wand at Sirius. He silently used an Obliviation Charm on Sirius, wiping any details of him and Lily knowing about the Death Eater attack before it happened from Sirius' memory. He let Sirius keep the information about Tiger-Lily, since that secret would be getting out soon for the Marauders anyway.

Then he ran forward and transformed into his Animagus. Together, Prongs and Tiger-Lily took off in the direction of the sounds of battle. Soon, they came upon a Death Eater dueling two students at once. When Tiger-Lily let off a loud growl, the Death Eater turned around. But before he could even lift his wand to cast a curse, Prongs ran at him, and rammed him with his antlers. The Death Eater screamed in pain as Prongs and Tiger-Lily proceeded to trample him, before continuing deeper into the village.

They passed by several bodies, not knowing whether they were student, villager, Death Eater or other, nor if they were injured, unconscious or dead. One of the Death Eaters had fallen victim to one of Lily's Vine Rune Traps. Then they came upon Marlene, Remus, Peter, Frank and Alice dueling against a group of Death Eaters outside a shop. Once again, Prongs ran forward and rammed one the closest Death Eater with his antlers. Near him, Tiger-Lily swiped another one with a large paw. Distracted when they attempted to turn their attack on the two animals, the Death Eaters were soon taken down by those they had been dueling.

Not wanting to reveal their identities to those who weren't aware of who they were – in Tiger-Lily's case, that would be everyone – Prongs and Tiger-Lily hurried away from their friends in search of another battle. It was then that they heard screaming coming from the direction of the Hog's Head. They started off in the direction of the pub. Soon they came upon a group of five Death Eaters, and none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort was dueling Professor Dumbledore, while the Death Eaters were dueling with several Professors, including McGonagall, Flitwick and the Defense Professor, Gosling.

Prongs turned down a narrow alleyway, and Tiger-Lily followed behind him. When Prongs transformed back into James, so did Lily.

"Voldemort," Lily said, her eyes wide and fearful, "I forgot he had participated in this attack."

"Lily," James said, "I know you're already tired of hearing this -"

"I'll remain out of Voldemort's sight," Lily said, "If you promise to do the same."

"Lily," James said.

" _James_ ," Lily countered. "We're not ready to confront him yet."

James opened his mouth to reply, when he was interrupted by a loud voice.

"VOLDEMORT HAS FLED!" Albus Dumbledore's voice – enchanted with a Sonorous Charm – echoed throughout the village. "THE ATTACK IS OVER. STUDENTS, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CARRIAGES! INJURIES WILL BE TENDED TO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"

"Come on," James said, "Let's go find our friends and make sure everyone's okay."

"Sirius knows about Tiger-Lily," Lily said.

"He would have found out later tonight, anyway," James said. "Now we can tell the guys, and you can join us on the Run without all this secrecy."

Lily smiled. "I look forward to it."

James took Lily's hand, and they headed back down the alley. When they emerged back onto the road, they looked toward the direction of where Voldemort had been. None of the Professors were injured, and two of the five Death Eaters who had been fighting alongside Voldemort were sprawled out on the ground.

Albus Dumbledore was speaking to his brother – and owner of the Hog's Head – Aberforth Dumbledore.

"Can't believe that bastard had the nerve to attack Hogsmeade, Albus," Aberforth said. "All those innocent students and villagers."

"I know, Ab," Albus said, "Excuse me. I see my two Head Students. Mr. Potter, Miss Evans!"

James smiled as he looked at the Headmaster.

"Headmaster," James said, "Lily and I saw you dueling Voldemort. I'm thankful you were unharmed."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Albus said, "Unfortunately, I fear there were some who may not be as lucky as I was."

"I don't know about that, sir," James said, "Lily and I saw a lot of downed Death Eaters during the battle. We might have actually won this battle."

"Perhaps, Mr. Potter, perhaps," Albus said. "I'm glad the two of you are unharmed. Would you please help and make sure the students are making their way back to Hogwarts?"

"What about the injured?" Lily asked, "And the -"

"My fellow staff and I will see to the injured and the Death Eaters," Albus said, "The Aurors should be here very shortly to assist us."

"We'll help the other students," James said.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Albus said, "You're excused."

James and Lily headed off through the village in search of their friends. It didn't take very long at all. They were all standing outside the Three Broomsticks – Sirius and Amelia included, as well as Pandora, and her boyfriend, Xenophilius, who James and Lily had not seen during the battle. Amelia looked shaken, and was holding onto Sirius, but at least she was okay.

"James! Lily!" Remus said.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Marlene exclaimed, as she ran over to Lily and hugged her. "You are okay. Right?"

"I'm _perfectly_ fine, Marlene," Lily said.

Marlene smiled. "Thank Merlin. I was so worried. Sirius and Amelia were telling us how the two of you were involved in the start of the attack. Hey! Did you hear? There was a deer and tiger running through the village."

"I think it was actually a stag," Remus said, smiling in James' direction.

"We saw Professor McGonagall with the Headmaster," Lily said, "Maybe she transfigured objects into the animals to help with the battle."

"Brilliant!" Marlene said. "Do you think she'll teach us how to do that this year?"

"The Headmaster wants everyone to head to the carriages," James said. "Go on and stick together. Lily and I have to make sure all the students are doing the same thing."

"Come find me when you're back at Hogwarts," Sirius said, "I want to talk to the two of you about something."

James nodded. "Sure. We can talk in the Head Student Quarters before the Halloween Feast."

Sirius nodded. As their friends headed off toward the carriages, James and Lily went in the other direction in search of any students who were lagging behind.

"I don't think Sirius simply wants to talk about Tiger-Lily, James," Lily said. "He wants answers about our part in the counter-attack."

"Nah, he doesn't," James said, grinning.

"James," Lily said, "The fireworks, the rune traps. He noticed something there."

"He did," James said, " _However,_ he doesn't remember he did."

"What?" Lily asked.

"I Obliviated him," James said.

"James!" Lily cried, scandalized, "How could you?"

"I merely Obliviated him of the knowledge that we knew the Death Eaters would be attacking," James said. "The Marauders can know about this Tiger-Lily, but nothing else."

"How do we explain Tiger-Lily then?" Lily asked.

"When we became a couple this summer," James said, "I revealed my Animagus secret to you. You wanted me to teach you how to become one, and so I did. You finally succeeded early this month. However, if Professor Dumbledore finds out, we can tell him the same thing you told Madam Pomfrey – your Transfiguration project."

"Alright," Lily said, "I like that. We need to do damage control, James. We need to get rid of those runes. The prank traps could have been set by anyone, but those runes are above Hogwarts-level."

James agreed. Over the next half-hour, as they searched for any students lagging behind, injured or worse, they also removed all of the evidence of runes around the village. By the time they finished, the Aurors had arrived, and James and Lily had been given permission to return to Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore met them at the last remaining carriages.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," Albus said, "I assume you're heading back to the castle."

"Yes, sir," James said.

"May I join you for the trip?" Albus asked.

James and Lily exchanged glances. They both knew the Headmaster intended on having a discussion with them. They nodded, and turned to him.

"You may," James said.

Lily stepped into the carriage, followed by James and Professor Dumbledore. Immediately, the carriage began making its way to the castle.

"I hope the majority of your first date went well," Albus said, "In spite of the horrors that happened."

"I should have known you knew about that," James said.

"I listen to the Hogwarts Rumor Mill from time to time," Albus said. "I was quite happy to find that my two Head Students were going on a date."

"We enjoyed ourselves, sir," Lily said.

"Perhaps you enjoyed yourselves a little too much?" Albus asked.

"Sir?" James asked.

"There were rumors of a Stag and Tiger running around the village during the battle," Albus said, "Defending students from the Death Eaters. Of course you're aware, Mr. Potter, that I am well-aware of your Animagus talents, due to the unfortunate event at the end of last term between Mr. Lupin and Mr. Snape which you intervened in."

"Yes, sir," James said; he had not forgotten Albus knew about his Animagus.

"I assumed the Stag was you," Albus said. "However, the Tiger's appearance befuddles even me."

"I was the Tiger, sir," Lily said, "I had planned on doing a report on Animagi for my Transfiguration Final Report before NEWT exams. I started studying up on it this summer, and by the end of summer, I was able to successfully transform into the Tiger. I haven't registered yet, though. When James found out what I was doing, he revealed to me his Animagus secret. When he said he wasn't registered, because he wanted to use it as a tool of surprise against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, I agreed to do the same."

"Congratulations on your achievement, Miss Evans," Albus said. "I will reward you by keeping your secret so you do not have to register yet. Unfortunately, this means I cannot give you House Points "

"Of course, sir," Lily said, "Thank you."

"Do you know the outcome of the battle, sir?" James asked, "The injured, and death count?"

"By some lucky miracle, no students were killed during the attack," Albus said, smiling when James and Lily sighed in relief. "There were some injuries. Three students are in St. Mungo's, but should return within a week. Six other students had injuries that Madam Pomfrey could deal with on her own. As for the Death Eaters, that is another story altogether. Six Death Eaters were killed in the attacks. Another dozen were Stunned or injured. Those injured were captured by Aurors. However, Voldemort and several unidentified Death Eaters fled at the end of the battle."

"Well, it could have been so much worse," Lily said.

"Indeed it could have," Albus said, "The two of you had a big hand in that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Unfortunately, the majority of the school won't know that, because of the secrecy of your Animagus identities."

"How will the Stag and Tiger be explained?" James asked.

"Do you have any suggestions, Mr. Potter?" Albus replied.

"Transfigured objects turned into animals to battle Death Eaters," James said.

"An excellent suggestion," Albus said, "I might even be able to convince Professor McGonagall to take claim for it."

"As you know, she already knows about my Stag Animagus," James said.

"If you wish to tell her about my Tiger, please do so," Lily nodded. "If anyone deserves to know, she does."

"I might take you up on that offer," Albus said, "You know. It is a beautiful afternoon. I think I'll walk from here."

He winked, and tapped his fist on the ceiling of the carriage. When it stopped, he stepped out of the carriage. Then the carriage resumed its journey. James and Lily both exhaled deeply.

"I seriously thought he was about to tell us he knew all of our secrets," James said.

"I just thought he was going to tell us he knew I was pregnant," Lily said, grinning; then he frowned. "Do you think he does know? About any of it? And he just decided not to tell us that he knows."

James grimaced. "I seriously hope not. You remember my theories about him, right? He advised us to move to Godric's Hollow. Potter Manor was much more protected than Godric's Hollow. Voldemort would not have pulled off that attack if we had remained at Potter Manor."

"I know your theories, James," Lily said. "I agree that we need to be careful around him. Death's warning about him when it came to the Elder Wand was enough to convince me we need to keep an eye on Albus."

"So, if Minerva agrees to claim Transfiguration when it comes to the stag and tiger," James said, "Then that will protect the secret of our Animagi from everyone but the Marauders."

"And Albus and Minerva," Lily said.

"True," James said, "I think that is a good sacrifice, don't you?"

"I wish you didn't have to Obliviate Sirius," Lily said, "But I do agree it was necessary."

James nodded in agreement. He then wrapped an arm around Lily, and cuddled him close to her.

"You alright, love?" he asked.

"We're fine, James," Lily said, as she rubbed her stomach, "But I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will check me over anyway."

"Good," James said, "But that's not what I meant. Both of us might have been responsible for one or more of those Death Eaters dying."

"We've killed Death Eaters before, James," Lily said. "I know I sounded concerned earlier. I was thinking more of what our friends would think of us if they knew we killed someone. From now on, if I duel, I'll duel to seriously maim the bastards, if not kill them."

"You sure?" James asked.

"Our mission won't end until Voldemort is dead, James," Lily said. "You'll be the one to end his life, more likely than not. If you have to go through with that, then so will I. Together, as husband and wife."

James smiled and nodded. Then he kissed her softly. Lily chuckled against his lips and returned the kiss. Then they cuddled up together in companionable silence as the carriage returned to Hogwarts.


	8. Death's Ultimatum, Part 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Saturday, October 31st, 1977 – Halloween**

It was nearing five-o-clock when James and Lily arrived back at the Head Student Private Quarters. They found Sirius and Remus waiting outside.

"Finally!" Sirius said, "We've been waiting a while."

"Where's Pete?" James asked.

Sirius huffed. "The idiot didn't tell us he was injured during the battle. He fainted in the carriage on the way back here. He should be fine. But he'll likely be in the Hospital Wing until tomorrow morning. Means he'll miss all the fun this evening."

"Alright," James said. "You two are both welcome to come inside with us. We have something we need to tell the two of you."

James and Lily led Sirius and Remus into the Private Quarters. They sat down on two couches near a hearth in the Common Room.

"This wouldn't be about the tiger running alongside Prongs during the battle in Hogsmeade, would it?" Remus asked.

Lily stood up, and walked over to the most open area of the room. She then transformed into Tiger-Lily. Both Sirius and Remus looked very impressed. Lily transformed back into her human form and sat back down beside James.

"When did you become an Animagus, Lily?" Remus asked.

"Early this month," Lily said. "But it took a month-and-half. When James and I became a couple, he told me about Prongs after our third date."

"James," Sirius said, "Whatever happened to Marauder secrets? I thought we agreed that we would only tell spouses in the future."

"Who says Lily and I won't marry in the future?" James asked. "I have no plans on letting her go, not after waiting so long."

Lily smiled. "My sentiments exactly."

"You see?" James asked, "I decided to tell her about Prongs. She didn't find out about the other Marauder secrets until last month's Full Moon Run."

"I was awake when James came back early that morning," Lily said, "He looked tired and filthy. I asked him where he had been, and he told me. I actually wasn't surprised, you know. If James was an Animagus, his friends probably were too. However... I also already knew about you, Remus."

"Lily?" Remus asked, frowning.

"I figured it out last year, Remus," Lily said. "I finally noticed that each month at a specific time, you looked paler than usual, and even ill. Really, I should have noticed it years ago. Some friend I am. Remus, you don't scare me. I will not stop being your friend just because of your furry little problem."

Remus glared playfully in James' direction – 'furry little problem' was James' phrase for it, after all - and James stuck out his tongue.

"To prove it," Lily said, "I've decided to join you on your Full Moon Run this evening."

"You're in!" Sirius said, grinning.

"Really?" Lily asked, "Just like that?"

"Wormtail's indisposed this evening," Sirius said, "So we need a fourth out there with us to keep up the tradition. You're in."

"Remus?" Lily asked.

"If James and Sirius say you can, then I'm in no position to disagree," Remus said. "But you must promise to be in your Animagus form at all times whilst in the vicinity of Moony."

"I promise, Remus," Lily said.

"Alright then," Sirius said, "But, there's just one tiny problem. You need a nickname."

"She has one," James said, "Tiger-Lily."

"Oh, yeah, like that has no mystery to it," Sirius said, "We call her that, people will know she's the tiger."

"James is called Prongs, and Remus is Moony," Lily said. "Those two names are pretty obvious once you realize what their secret is. Padfoot and Wormtail is pretty close too."

Sirius huffed. "Point. Fine. Tiger-Lily it is."

'Brilliant," Lily said, "Now... what about the nudity tradition?"

"The what?!" Sirius and Remus asked.

"James said after you transform back into your human forms, you're naked," Lily said, grinning.

"That only happened one time!" Sirius said, "The first Full Moon Run, James, Pete and I weren't yet aware how to keep our clothes on, and we – you know – wound up naked."

"Oh," Lily said, then grinned mischievously, "This is _my_ first Full Moon Run."

"Prongs?" Sirius asked, "Is she serious?"

Lily laughed out loud. "Nope! You are!"

James snickered when Sirius' jaw dropped as he looked at Lily.

"I think she pranked us, Padfoot," Remus said.

"If you want to be naked tonight, Tiger-Lily," Sirius said, "That is fine with me!"

"Sorry, Padfoot," Lily said, "The only Marauder I'm naked around is James."

Remus choked back laughter. Sirius' jaw dropped as she looked at James. James grinned and winked.

"So," Sirius said, "Then that means –?"

"Exactly what you think it means," Lily said, "And that is the last you will mention of it, Sirius Black. James will not discuss _any of_ _that_ with _any of you._ Not if he wants it to continue."

"My lips are zipped when it comes to that topic," James said.

Sirius laughed. "You're alright, Evans."

"I'm glad you approve," Lily said, sarcastically. "So, how is Amelia?"

"Madam Pomfrey checked her over at the same time we brought Pete to the Hospital Wing," Sirius said. "Amelia was given a Potion to counter-act any prolonged after-effects, and she has to meet with Madam Pomfrey later this evening. Aside from that, she's fine. She wasn't under Bellatrix's curse very long anyway."

His face twisted in anger. "Bellatrix, that damn bitch. I'll kill her for cursing Amelia."

"The Curse was meant for _you,_ Sirius," James said. "Amelia stepped in front of you."

"I'm perfectly aware of that, Prongs," Sirius said.

"Did Amelia say why she took the Curse for you?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Sirius said, smiling, "But that is private."

"Aw," Lily cooed, "She loves you, Black."

Sirius huffed, but the smile did not leave his face.

"So I assume your date with her went well?" James asked, "Aside from the Death Eater attack?"

"Well, she wants another date _and_ she agreed to be my girlfriend," Sirius said. "Does that answer your question?"

"Alright, Padfoot!" James said, grinning.

"Now, if you two don't mind," Lily said, "I need to take a shower and change for the Halloween Feast."

"I should probably do the same," James said.

"I need to go see Amelia, anyway," Sirius said, "Come on, Moony. Let's leave the lovebirds alone."

Sirius and Remus stood and headed toward the exit.

"Say," Sirius said, turning back to James and Lily, "Isn't there only one shower? Does that mean you two are going to -"

" _Go,_ Padfoot," James said, "Before Lily hexes you. And then me."

Sirius grinned and retreated from the Private Quarters with Remus.

"So?" James said, turning to Lily, " _Are_ we going to take a shower together?"

"Well, I do need help getting to those hard-to-reach places," Lily said.

She winked, stood and headed in the direction of the bathroom. James grinned and hurried after her.

With the students and Professors of Hogwarts still reeling from the Death Eater attack in Hogsmeade, Lily had assumed that the Halloween Feast that evening would be a subdued event. But, as she sat beside James in her usual spot at the Gryffindor Table, she couldn't help but smile at the atmosphere around her. To her and her husband, it had been four years since they had experienced a Halloween Feast at Hogwarts, and they had not experienced anything like it since.

Once again, Lily had opted fill her plate more than usual, but since everyone usually gorged themselves on Halloween, nobody knew why she had done it aside from James and Marlene.

A sharp ding echoed around the Great Hall, as at the Head Table, Professor McGonagall tapped her spoon on her glass. The chatter around the large room stopped almost immediately as Professor Dumbledore stood from his chair.

"I know most of you cannot wait to fill your stomachs with the many delicious options of food available for the Halloween Feast this evening," Dumbledore said. "I share those sentiments. So I will try to make me speech as brief as possible. I am sure most of you – even those whom weren't present for the event afternoon – are well-aware of what happened in Hogsmeade Village this afternoon. For those of you who may not have heard, Voldemort -"

He paused as there were several gasps or cries of fear from the mention of the Dark wizard's name.

" – and the Death Eaters participated in a cowardly attack on Hogsmeade Village," he continued. "Through some joyous miracles, quick thinking, and various heroes, young and old, the attack was far less of a tragedy than Voldemort had intended on. While two residents of Hogsmeade sadly lost their lives, I am happy to report that there were no deaths among the student body or the staff of Hogwarts that helped fight and repel the Death Eaters."

There were several happy sounds, some applause, and a few murmurs from the students around the Hall.

"All students injured in the attack will be back in classes within the following week," Dumbledore said, to more applause and happy reactions. While many of Voldemort's Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself, retreated, there were casualties on their side as well. Six Death Eaters were killed in the attacks. Another dozen were Stunned or injured. Those injured were captured by Aurors."

Roars of applause and cheers were heard around the Hall. Dumbledore allowed this to continue for half-a-minute, before emitting orange-and-black sparks from his wand into the air above him. The students went silent again.

"Also," Dumbledore continued, "You may have heard rumors of certain animals running through the streets of Hogsmeade assisting in the battle against the Death Eaters. If anyone present is responsible for these animals, would you please stand up?"

Lily and James glanced at each other, then back at Dumbledore, who was looking at them. Then the Headmaster turned to Professor McGonagall and she stood up.

"Professor McGonagall transfigured objects into the animals," Dumbledore said, "And they assisted in the battle. I've been told they were responsible for several Death Eater injuries, and at least one Death Eater death, due to their trampling."

As many of the students cheered and applauded the Transfiguration Professor's supposed efforts, Lily and James exchanged looks. Across the table, Sirius and Remus were looking at them with slightly shocked looks. As Lily looked back toward the Head Table, she noticed both Dumbledore and McGonagall looking at her and James. It was apparent that McGonagall knew who was actually responsible for the Stag and Tiger's appearance.

"Unfortunately, one of the Gryffindor Quidditch team members suffered an injury," Dumbledore said, "Therefore, in order to give the Gryffindors equal footing with their opponents in their upcoming Quidditch match, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch match will be moved from tomorrow, to one week from today to give the team enough time to prepare."

Several students murmured and gave disappointed moans.

"With no further ado," Dumbledore said, "Let the Halloween Feast continue."

As conversation resumed around the Great Hall, Amelia Bones, one of the Gryffindor Chasers, huffed.

"Professor Dumbledore didn't need to postpone the match just because I got injured," she said, "I could have played tomorrow."

"You were hit with a Cruciatus Curse, Amelia," Sirius said. "Meant for me, mind you. You don't know if you would be able to play tomorrow or not. Madam Pomfrey said convulsing and twitches is common in the days following being placed under a Torture Curse. Imagine if you started convulsing fifty feet in mid-air."

Amelia huffed again and pointed at James. "You better not replace me, Potter. I _will_ be able to play."

James' eyes widened. Lily knew he had probably not given much thought to Quidditch since they had returned back in time.

"I'll assign two, maybe three practices next week," James said, "If you're still up to your usual quality after the first practice, you're in. If not, I'll need to put a reserve in so they can prepare for the match."

"Fine," Amelia muttered.

"You were right, Lily," Marlene said, "When you said Professor McGonagall transfigured objects into the stag and tiger during the battle."

Lily shrugged. "When you think about it, it was pretty obvious."

"Yeah," James said, "What else could they have been?"

"Animagi," Pandora said, "That's what I thought they were. After all, they were directly targeting Death Eaters. Xenophilius said it takes some complex transfiguration to be able to command transfigured animals to attack specific targets."

"Maybe they were targeting anyone with Dark Marks," James said.

"Or anyone in hoods and masks," Sirius supplied.

"Or Professor McGonagall, a Transfiguration Mistress, is just that good," Lily said.

"Who cares?" Alice said, "Whatever it was, I thank them for being there. They saved us. It was us – Frank, Marlene, Remus and Pete and I – against a group of Death Eaters, and none of us got hurt because of them."

"Pete did," Sirius said.

"Yeah, well it could have been far worse," Frank said. "Alice is right. We could have all been injured, or worse. Plus it sounds like they were responsible for injuring and even killing at least one of the bastards. I'm toasting them!"

Frank lifted his goblet of butterbeer, and several others followed in suit. James took Lily's hand under the table and squeezed it. Lily looked at her husband and smiled at him.

"I tell you what," Frank said, "As soon as I'm out of here, I'm joining up with the Aurors. I want to make sure the Death Eaters _never_ attacks places like Hogsmeade again."

"It takes three years in the Auror Corps before you'd be able to join the Department, Frank," Amelia said.

"Maybe," James said, "Maybe not. Who knows what will happen between now and next summer. Several Aurors might die in the line of duty fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The Auror Department may recruit students straight out of Hogwarts and put them through only a few weeks of training. My father mentioned something like that last summer."

Lily knew the latter part of James' statement was probably a lie. He had based that off of what had actually happened the last time around.

"You aren't thinking of joining the Auror Department too, are you, James?" Marlene asked.

James shrugged. "I've given it some thought."

Marlene frowned and looked in Lily's direction. Lily realized exactly what Marlene was thinking. An hour later, after the feast was finished, Lily found out she was right. She and James were headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing to meet with Madam Pomfrey. They had made the excuse to their friends that they wanted to see how Pete was doing. Marlene was the only one who had tagged along.

"You're really thinking of joining the Aurors, James?" Marlene asked; her voice low so only Lily and James could hear her, "I'm sure that might have been something you were thinking about for a while. But, after today, I thought you might have considered a different career. I mean, you just found out you're going to be a father, James. Of twins!"

"You know what I'm also thinking about, Marlene?" James asked. "Placing a Memory Charm on you. This is exactly why Lily and I wanted to keep this a secret for now."

"Secret or not, it wouldn't change anything," Marlene said.

"No," James said, "But it would have given Lily and I time to think about our future without anyone else butting in with their own commentary."

Marlene huffed. "What do you think about this, Lily?"

"I think I agree with James on this," Lily said. "At least when it comes to the fact that he and I will be discussing our future."

"James, you told me you had no intentions of dying," Marlene said.

"I think I know quite a bit more than you, Marlene," James said, "when it comes to dying and surviving."

"James," Lily muttered; her husband was coming very close to causing them to give up another important secret.

"I am not letting my children grow up in a time of war, Marlene," James said. "And I will do anything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I'll end this war on my own if I have to."

"You won't be alone," Lily said.

"Merlin!" Marlene groaned, "Am I the only one sane here? Do you two not realize where you're going right now? Why you're headed to the Hospital Wing?"

"Leave, Marlene," Lily said.

"Lily!" Marlene said, "You can't expect me to ignore this!"

"I don't," Lily said, stopping in her tracks and staring at Marlene, "I do expect you to leave. We're nearing the Hospital Wing, and we don't need Madam Pomfrey discovering you know what James and I are dealing with. If she realizes our secret was discovered so early, _so easily,_ she might decide she needs to tell Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. We're not prepared for that to happen yet! Do you understand?"

"Okay," Marlene said, "Lily, I'm going to blame your attitude on hormones."

"Sweetheart?" James asked. "Can I Obliviate her?"

"Not now, dear," Lily said.

Marlene huffed. "Fine. I'm going. I do agree that you made some good points there. Just remember I care for you, Lily. I'm here for you."

Lily's eyes became misty. "I know that. Thank you."

Marlene hugged her, then backed away and started off back down the corridor. Lily resumed her trek toward the Hospital Wing with James at her side.

"Are you alright, Lily?" James asked.

"We were too hard on her," Lily said. "We're getting a second chance with her, and we were much too hard on her."

"I forgot how confrontational she was," James said. "Especially when she cares for something. We should have realized once she discovered your pregnancy, she make helping us her personal mission."

"I can't lose her again, James," Lily said. "You know how much her death affected me."

"I know," James said. "We'll keep an eye on her, especially until we defeat Voldemort."

Lily nodded. "We do need to talk about that, James. Aside from our part in defending against the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade today, we haven't given any thought about the mission."

"Tomorrow," James said, "Along with catching up on our classwork and figuring out where we are with that, we'll focus on the mission. Outlining what we're going to do between now and the time we defeat Voldemort. Right now, we need to visit Madam Pomfrey, then prepare for the Full Moon Run."

"Okay," Lily said, nodding.

They arrived at the Hospital Wing two minutes later. When Madam Pomfrey saw them, she directed them into her office.

"Miss Evans," she said, as she closed the office door behind her, "I was expecting to see you before the Feast."

"You told us to meet you after the Feast," Lily said.

"I am aware of that, Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey said, "I am also aware you were involved in the attack on Hogsmeade."

"I wasn't injured, ma'am," Lily said, "I'm fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," Madam Pomfrey said; she directed Lily over to one of the chairs on the near side of her desk, "Sit down, please. I need to look you over."

Lily sat down, and James joined her in the chair beside her. Madam Pomfrey stood in front of Lily, and waved her wand around Lily's body.

"Diagnostic Charms," Madam Pomfrey said, "Quite harmless, I assure you."

"I know, ma'am," Lily said.

"I'm sure you do," Madam Pomfrey said, "However, I know how defensive pregnant mothers can be, especially when a wand is pointed in their direction. Now, let's see here..."

The nurse began looking at something neither Lily nor James could see.

"Hmm," she said, "Well that's – hmm."

"Something wrong?" Lily asked.

"She is alright, isn't she?" James asked.

"Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey said, "Earlier this morning, you asked me a question about Animagus transformations."

"Yeah," Lily said, slowly.

"What you failed to mention," Madam Pomfrey said, "is that you're already an Animagus."

Lily winced. "Yeah, about that..."

"Am I to understand that the animals running around fighting the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade today," Madam Pomfrey said, "were not Professor McGonagall's creations?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said, "I am the Bengal Tiger."

"Sweet Merlin, Miss Evans!" Madam Pomfrey said. "Am I to understand you deliberately charged at Death Eaters in the middle of crossfire, curses, hexes and spells as a Bengal Tiger knowing full well that you are pregnant?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said.

"Miss Evans, you are lucky you're a picture of health!" Madam Pomfrey said, "You're lucky nothing happened to you or your babies!"

"I was being very careful," Lily said.

"It certainly does not sound like it!" Madam Pomfrey argued.

"You just said I'm a picture of health," Lily retorted.

"Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey said, "When I agreed, this morning, to keep your condition a secret from even Headmaster Dumbledore, I assumed that you were going to be smart about all of this. I am _this close_ – maybe closer! – from forbidding you from attending any future Potions or Defense lessons! Hell, maybe Charms and Transfiguration too, since spell work will be going off all around you. I'm this close from keeping you in one of those beds out there until those twins are born. I'm afraid I must inform the Headmaster and your Professors of your condition."

"Madam Pomfrey!" Lily gasped. "You can't -"

"I can't _what_ , Miss Evans?" Madam Pomfrey replied. "If I keep your condition from the staff, and they discover I did, once you began to start showing, I could lose my job. Do you want to continue attending _all_ of your classes, Miss Evans?"

Lily sighed, weighing her options. On one hand, she had already experienced everything she'd be learning. However, she knew if she did not finish her education _again_ and pass her NEWTS _again,_ her future when it came to possible careers would be grim. Also, if she did drop out, none of her friends would understand until she told them that she had learned all of it before, while also explaining exactly what that meant!

"What do you think, James?" Lily asked.

"Professor Dumbledore, as our Headmaster, and Professor McGonagall, as our Head of House, can know," James said. "Nobody else. _And_ we get to tell them ourselves."

Madam Pomfrey stared at James, then Lily for a moment. Then she rounded her desk and sat down. She took a memo sheet and wrote something down on it. Then she pointed her wand at it, and the memo turned into a paper airplane which proceeded to fly out of the office.

"I've informed Professor Dumbledore to expect the both of you in his office within the next half-hour," Madam Pomfrey said, "I also asked him to invite Professor McGonagall to the meeting. After we're finished here, you will go directly there. Do you both understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lily and James said in unison.

"If you're hunting for a story to tell the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress," Madam Pomfrey said, "Tell them that you were in here because you weren't feeling well, you had nausea and you feared you might have been hexed during the battle. "

"Then I discovered that I'm pregnant," Lily said. "And the nausea was a pregnancy symptom."

"Precisely," Madam Pomfrey said. "Therefore, they won't accuse you of doing something as dumb as participating in a battle when you know you're pregnant!"

Lily winced again. "Yes, ma'am."

"Know that I am doing this for your health and safety, Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey said, "and the health and safety of your babies. It will be up to the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress concerning the future of your education."

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said.

"I am postponing this meeting, Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey said. "If you're still here tomorrow morning, the two of you can visit me then. For now..."

Madam Pomfrey passed a small leather across the desk to Lily.

"This is a Pregnancy Potion Kit," she said, "It has a week's supply of potions that will help you with morning sickness andother symptoms. The Kit will also assist you with the harmful fumes in Potions class. There is also a small pamphlet you need to read about the Kit. Each week, I will refill your Potion Kit."

Lily already knew about the standard Pregnancy Potion Kits. She had dealt with them during her first pregnancy.

"Thank you, ma'am," Lily said.

"You are excused," Madam Pomfrey said, "Professor Dumbledore will be expecting you."

Lily took the bag and stood up. She led James out of the office, and they started off down the corridor.

"I'm sorry," Lily and James said in unison.

Lily glanced at James. "You first. What are you sorry about?"

"Several things," James said. "For example, not putting a Memory Charm on Madam Pomfrey."

Lily chuckled, when James grinned. Obviously he wasn't serious – well, maybe he was half-serious.

"I'm sorry for agreeing with Madam Pomfrey," James said, "When I said that we can tell Albus and Minerva."

"Better than telling _all_ the Professors," Lily said, "I'm sorry for putting us in this position. I should have stayed out of that battle."

"Lily, you don't need to apologize about that," James said. "We both know what we're dealing with here. I can't defeat Voldemort alone, nor can I shield you from it all. I need your help."

Lily smiled, then sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"Lily, we don't even need to be here," James said, "We can pass our NEWTs tomorrow and get the same results we would in June. We could leave tonight or tomorrow and focus on the fight against Voldemort."

"What would we tell our friends?" Lily asked. "Oh god. Our parents. What would we tell our parents?"

"The truth," James said, "Or rather, half of the truth. You're pregnant, and we're leaving Hogwarts for your safety."

Lily frowned. "Let's find out what Albus and Minerva have to say. If the results of the meeting interferes at all with our mission, we'll leave Hogwarts tomorrow. However, we're here for a reason. Remember what Death said about the Room of Requirement?"

"We could retrieve it before we leave," James said.

"Right," Lily said. "If we have to leave, we leave tomorrow. After we go to the Room of Requirement, and tell our friends what is going on. And if we're not leaving..."

"We'll figure it out if that bridge is crossed," James said.

Lily nodded. She smiled when James took her hand, and they headed toward the Headmaster's Office.

* * *

 **One more chapter coming of what I had written for this story. And it is only about half as long as my usual chapters because it isn't completed. That will come tomorrow.**


	9. Death's Ultimatum, Part 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Saturday, October 31st** **, 1977 – Halloween**

As Lily and James approached the gargoyle statute standing guard outside Dumbledore's office, it moved to the side at the sight of them, as the wall it guarded parted, revealing a stairwell.

"It appears Albus knows we're here," James said.

Lily nodded. She led James up the stairs. When they arrived at the door to Dumbledore's office, it opened. They stepped into the office where they found Professor Dumbledore sitting at his desk, and Professor Minerva McGonagall standing near the desk.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," Albus said; he motioned to the chairs on the other side of his desk, "Please take a seat."

Lily and James crossed the room and sat down in the chairs.

"Madam Pomfrey informed me that the two of you needed to speak to Professor McGonagall and myself," Albus said, "Is this correct?"

"Yes, sir," James said.

"It is not every day I am instructed by the Hogwarts nurse to meet with students in my own office," Albus said, "So I am sure you can guess that I am most curious. Would you please fill me in on why we are meeting this evening?"

"Earlier this evening, after the Halloween Feast," Lily said, "as James and I were on our way back to our Private Quarters, I was hit with a wave of nausea. I retreated into the nearest restroom to vomit. When I was finished, James knew what had happened, and he told me he was taking me to the Hospital Wing."

"I was afraid she had been hit by a hex during the battle, sir," James said. "I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"A wise decision, Mr. Potter," Minerva said.

"I assume you met with Madam Pomfrey," Albus said. "What did you discover?"

"Something a bit more surprising than a hex," Lily said. "I found out that the nausea was more commonly referred to as morning sickness. It turns out I am pregnant with twins."

"Good Merlin, Miss Evans!" Minerva exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Do you know the identity of the father?" Albus asked.

James raised his hand, and both Albus and Minerva looked at him in mild surprise.

"Madam Pomfrey gave me a Pregnancy Potions Kit," Lily said, "And said she would discuss more with us tomorrow. While I have not discovered the estimated due date, nor the exact date of conception, I am quite positive conception was _before_ we came to Hogwarts this term. James and I started dating in secret starting late July, early August. We started a sexual relationship closer to the end of August, and as I alluded to, I was probably pregnant by the time I boarded the Hogwarts Express. Before James and I officially began our Head Duties."

"Headmaster Dumbledore informed me prior to the Halloween Feast," Minerva said, "that you were the Bengal Tiger who participated in defending Hogsmeade from the Death Eater attack, Miss Evans."

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said, "I let him know it was me, and we came up with a story so my Animagus identity would not be revealed to the student body as a whole. Thank you for agreeing to assist in the story."

"You're welcome," Minerva said, "It is an excellent achievement. I'm going to assume you participated in the attack without any knowledge of your pregnancy?"

"I was in complete surprise when I discovered I was pregnant, ma'am," Lily said; it was the truth, but her version of the answer was not the one McGonagall knew.

"Do you know why Madam Pomfrey wanted you to inform the Headmaster and myself?" Minerva asked.

"According to her," Lily said, "We're here to discuss the future of my education concerning my pregnancy."

"Miss Evans, you're not the first pregnant student to walk these hall and take classes," Minerva said. "There's been about a dozen since I started teaching here. And I distinctly remember two pregnant women here in the time when I was a student. At least five of those girls were under the age of seventeen. I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore can add to that number since he's been here."

"Indeed," Albus said, "I remember one particular young witch – she started going into labor during a Quidditch match! Luckily she was an audience member and not a player. She had four babies that day: two boys, and two girls. The young mother was a sixth year at the time. She returned for her seventh year, have a wonderful final year of her education and passed her NEWT exams, all while raising her children here at Hogwarts during school-term. They all grew up to become students here, and were all wonderful members of our society. Three students currently in this castle are grandchildren of two of them and their spouses."

"To be honest, I'm surprised there aren't more in your condition, Miss Evans," Minerva said, "given the fact that the British wizarding society is in the middle of a war. It is common for teenage pregnancy and marriage during wartime. The reason for these tales? If you had any fear of expulsion due to your condition as you were making your way up here – well – I thought you were smarter than that, young lady."

"Perhaps not expulsion," Lily said, "Maybe loss of my Head Girl status."

"Were you planning on making this public news around Hogwarts?" Minerva asked.

"No, ma'am!" Lily exclaimed. "In fact, we're hoping to keep it a secret until I start showing. We're not sure we even want our closest friends to know yet."

"If you were to lose your status as Head Girl," Minerva said, "There would be rumors and questions. Your pregnancy would be revealed due to that instead of by your own decision. As you said, you're quite sure your pregnancy started before you officially started your Head Girl duties?"

"Quite sure, ma'am," Lily said; that was quite honest – technically, her twins were conceived over three years _after_ she finished her Head Girl duties.

"Then the – ah – event that caused your pregnancy was not done on school grounds," Minerva said, "Therefore, I cannot punish you because of that."

"And if such relations continued... on school grounds?" Lily asked, wincing.

"I'm sure Minerva understands that pregnant women have needs," Albus said, with an amused smile.

Minerva looked rather shocked at the Headmaster. James snickered softly, before he was sobered by Minerva's stare.

"We would not want to cause any harm toward yourself and your babies, Miss Evans," Albus said, continuing to smile, "Whatever you feel would help assist you in your pregnancy is okay by me."

Lily tried to hide the blush coming to her cheeks. "Thank you, Headmaster. I believe Madam Pomfrey's concern about the future of my education has more to do with my classes and the dangers they may represent. Dangerous fumes in Potions class, for example. Possibility of misfired spells being cast in Defense, Charms and Transfiguration."

"I can understand Madam Pomfrey's concerns," Albus said. "While I will promise to keep your condition a secret from the rest of the staff for as long as possible, I will also try to handle your class situations in the best and most delicate way possible. Come see me tomorrow evening around this time, and I will have a solution for you, Miss Evans."

"Yes, Headmaster," Lily said.

"I would imagine your babies will be born before your education ends here, Miss Evans?" Albus asked.

"Sometime between late April and early June is my guess," Lily said, "I'll find out for sure tomorrow. But yes, they'll be born while I'm still here at Hogwarts, sir."

"In regular cases," Albus said, "You would have been moved to Private Quarters to prepare for your babies, and care for them when they arrive. Fortunately, as you know, you're already in the Head Student Private Quarters. So there is no real issue with that. If you, myself, Professor McGonagall, or Madam Pomfrey feel that your classes could endanger your pregnancy, and/or babies at anytime in the future, you can feel free to remove yourself from that class. Private studies for any needed class will be available to you if that were to happen. In fact, such an event might happen once your babies are born."

"Thank you, sir," Lily said.

"I also ask you to inform me when you feel it will be time to reveal your condition to Hogwarts in general," Albus said, "I will do my best to handle the damage control."

"Yes, sir," Lily said.

"Please know that myself, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey are all available if you need any help," Albus said. "Do you have any questions at this moment?"

"Are any of her normal student privileges revoked?" James asked. "For example, Hogsmeade weekends? I mean, what with the Death Eater attack..."

"Actions are being taken to secure Hogsmeade Village from future attacks, Mr. Potter," Albus said. "If there comes a time when Miss Evans' permission would be revoked, you can rest assured it would be because all students' permission would be revoked, and not just Miss Evans, due to her condition. As for other privileges. You are not a member of the Quidditch team, Miss Evans, so obviously that doesn't concern you. As I alluded to earlier, your safety concerns when it comes to protecting yourself, and your unborn children, during everyday activities will be discussed more tomorrow once I can work out all the details."

"What about my Animagus ability?" Lily asked.

"Are you planning on transforming into your Animagus form any time soon, Miss Evans?" Minerva asked.

Lily winced. She had been planning on going on the Full Moon Run that evening

"As I explained to Professor Dumbledore," Lily said, "I am researching Animagi for my Final Transfiguration Report."

"Miss Evans, I have half-a-mind to give you an Outstanding on your Report right this minute," Minerva said. "However, I am well-aware that you do nothing half-done, so you would never accept such a grade without doing your work. Animagus Transformations are completely harmless to your pregnancy until your seventh month. Before then, you have my permission to perform your transformation. I'm sure you'll have enough research for your Report before that time comes."

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Headmaster, earlier you discussed the possibility of private studies for Lily," James said, "Will I be given the same privilege as the father of her babies?"

"After the children are born," Albus said, "You will be given that option. I believe your family owns house-elves, James?"

"A few, sir," James said, "Including one who was my nanny and handmaiden when I was younger."

"If you wish," Albus said, "You may bring a house-elf to Hogwarts after your babies are born, to assist you with their care. Or if you wish, a Hogwarts house-elf will be happy to assist you. This might give you the opportunity to finish your classes after the babies are born."

"Alright," James said.

"Will you be informing your parents about this news?" Minerva asked.

"We've discussed it briefly," Lily said. "We'll likely inform them in the next few days."

"Do inform me if your parents wish to see you before you head home for Christmas Break," Albus said.

"Yes, sir," Lily said, and James nodded.

"Do you have any more questions?" Albus asked.

Lily glanced at James, and he shook his head. Lily turned to Albus and shook her head as well.

"Very well," Albus said, "Thank you for informing us of this wonderful news. Congratulations on your pregnancy. I look forward to meeting the next generation of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter in the near future. I will expect you here tomorrow evening, Miss Evans, and you may join her if you wish, Mr. Potter."

"I'll be here, sir," James said.

"Then I will see you tomorrow," Albus said. "You are both excused. Have a wonderful evening."

Lily and James thanked the Headmaster. They stood and proceeded to leave the office.

* * *

As the Head Students left the office, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore relaxed in his comfortable leather chair. Minerva rounded the desk and sat down in one of the chairs the students were sitting in moments before.

"Lily Evans – pregnant!" Minerva said, "She's the last person I ever expected to be in this position while still a student in Hogwarts. I had a good feeling that Lily would see past her insecurities toward James Potter, finally accept a date that James has been wanting for years, and they would begin a romantic relationship. But I never could have expected this!"

"Oh, Minerva," Albus said, "I doubt even teenage pregnancy could stop a fine student like Lily Evans from finishing her education here as one of the best students Hogwarts has had this century."

"Well, I have no doubts about that, Albus," Minerva said. "In fact, I'm quite sure she completed her Animagus transformation during the early weeks of her pregnancy, which is an amazing feat in itself."

"You think she completed her transformation while here at Hogwarts?" Albus asked.

"Very recently, Albus," Minerva said, "I'm sure of it. As a fellow feline Animagus, I think I would have sensed it at some point in time. It is as if her first transformation was today even! The scent I picked up from her, that of her tiger, I never smelled it on her before today."

"I did discover her and James appearing from an alleyway, Minerva," Albus said, smiling in amusement, "Perhaps they were in that alleyway, because she had the misfortune to end up naked when returning to her human form. Which, as you know, is an early mistake in those just beginning their transformations."

"If this was her first transformation, then she is the most brilliant Animagus I've ever met, Albus," Minerva said. "She attacked and trampled Death Eaters today. If I was correct in detecting her scent, she ran clear across the Village in her Tiger form, from the south side of the village, to the north. She had enough control over herself to keep her Animagus form while exerting so much energy, as well as adrenaline of rushing through battles and spell-fire. That is usually unheard of, Albus! If you ask me, she showed experience of an Animagus who has honed her skills for at least a year of casual transformations. Which is impossible, because I would have detected her before."

"Then if this is not her first transformation," Albus said, "How would you explain it?"

"I can't explain it," Minerva said. "She is a mystery."

"That she is," Albus agreed.

"There's something else," Minerva said, "Her desire for future transformations during her pregnancy concerns me, Albus."

"Oh?" Albus asked.

"When Mr. Potter revealed his Animagus transformation to us in June," Minerva said, "You asked him why Mr. Lupin did not attack Mr. Potter in his werewolf form."

"I remember," Albus said.

"James told us that he had been keeping Remus company during many Full Moons in the past," Minerva said. "That Remus' werewolf recognized James' stag."

"Indeed," Albus said, "I've discovered they go on Runs through the Forbidden Forest during the Full Moon, then James keeps Remus company in the Shrieking Shack. I've allowed it to happen, because it ensures that Remus would never get close to Hogwarts in his werewolf form while James is watching him."

"That is all very well, Albus," Minerva said. "But that is not my point here."

"You believe Lily will join James and Remus this evening during the Full Moon," Albus said; it was not a question.

"Yes," Minerva said. "Lily is pregnant, Albus. I am certain this is the first time Remus' werewolf will meet Lily's Tiger."

"James would never allow Remus to harm Lily," Albus said. "James protected Severus Snape from Remus in June. James and Severus don't see eye-to-eye. You know this. However, it is rather evident that James loves Lily. Lily will be very safe with James, and probably would have been even if she wasn't pregnant with his twins. Of course, if you still worry about Lily, you could always accompany them in your own Animagus form."

"I'm a common house-cat, Albus!" Minerva exclaimed, "Lily is -"

"A Bengal Tiger," Albus interrupted with a smile, "One of the fiercest animals on this earth. Nearly as fierce as a pregnant mother protecting her children, unborn or otherwise. Combine the two and even Voldemort might flee from Lily if he were to meet her."

Minerva huffed. "You shouldn't take this so lightly, Albus. We were all very lucky this afternoon in Hogsmeade. You-Know-Who..."

Albus glanced at Minerva through his spectacles.

"Oh, alright," Minerva said, " _Voldemort_ could have turned his wand on any of us instead of yourself and killed us. We would have been distracted by his Death Eaters assisting him. We were very lucky there were no student deaths."

"James and Lily assisted in that with their Animagi," Albus said, "One of them is responsible for at least one – if not more – of the Death Eater's deaths. And that was before Lily discovered she was pregnant."

"Fine," Minerva said, "She'll probably be just fine if she decides to join James and Remus in the forest this evening. As for the issues concerning her and her unborn children's safety whilst in classes and around Hogwarts? She was quite correct to worry about spells in the classroom, Albus."

"Indeed, she was," Albus said, "Between this evening and tomorrow evening, I will be constructing an Amulet of Maternity."

Minerva nodded. "The amulet protects mothers and their unborn children as long as they are pregnant. Most common spells used in classes and around Hogwarts will bounce off of her harmlessly."

"Indeed," Albus said. "I will also inform Professor Gosling and Professor Flitwick that she is not permitted to be involved in any kind of dueling."

"What will you tell them the reason is?" Minerva asked.

"When her parents discover her condition," Albus said, "I'm sure they would hope that she isn't involved in any dueling. I'll merely inform any staff who needs to know that Miss Evans' parents explicitly gave me such a request for personal reasons."

Minerva nodded again. "I'm sure that will suit their concerns. What are we going to do when Lily's pregnancy becomes public news?"

"As I alluded to with Lily," Albus said, "We'll discuss that with her when it comes time. If Lily is okay with it, I'll make a formal announcement during a meal in the Great Hall, where I will inform the student body of the special rules for pregnant students."

"We'll need to be ready for anything," Minerva said. "Some students will not appreciate the news that a Muggleborn is pregnant with the future Lord of a well-known Ancient and Most Noble House, especially one which was consistently a pureblood bloodline before now."

"It will all be taken care of, Minerva," Albus said.

"Alright," Minerva said. "Well, between this wonderful news, and the aftermath of the Hogsmeade attack, I'm sure you have a busy evening, Albus. I will let you get on with it. I have much to do myself. I need to reflect more about Lily's Tiger Animagus. Perhaps I will be able to find some answers to my questions concerning her."

"I wish you the best of luck," Albus said. "Have a good evening, Minerva."

Minerva echoed his sentiments, stood from her chair and left the office. Meanwhile, Albus popped a lemon drop in his mouth and sucked on it, as he relaxed back in his chair.

* * *

 **Well, that is all I have written for this story. I am not sure if I will ever continue this story, as I have completely forgotten what my plans were for it (I believe it has been around two years that I've had this story in my documents). But there may come a time in the distant future that we see more progress with this.**


	10. Our Time, Our Responsibility

**Title: Our Time, Our Responsibility**

 **Summary: At the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort and his army were defeated, but Harry Potter sacrificed himself for the Light. He leaves Minerva McGonagall a 'suicide note', telling her about everything that has happened to him over the past seven years. McGonagall meets with some of her staff, and come up with a plan to change things for the better. By going back in time to Harry's first year at Hogwarts.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings:** **Manipulative!GreaterGood!Dumbledore, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, Severus Snape, some Weasleys, others**  
 **  
Ships: Harry/Hermione**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **Author's Note: This is a sort of AU-story. The story in Deathly Hallows happens sort of differently in this tale, at least some parts of the second half of it. It will be explained more in this chapter.**

 **Also, this is a Harry/Hermione story, but unlike the rest of my Harry/Hermione stories, they are almost always going to be background characters unless I decide differently. Minerva, Flitwick, and the Hogwarts staff you see in this chapter will be the main characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
The Letter and The Plan**

 **May 9** **th** **, 1998 – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Staff Room**

  
The castle known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a famous landmark in the wizarding world. It was known world-round, at least to magic-users and the like, as one of the greatest institutes of teaching. It was beautiful, majestic, and anybody who took that memorable ride across the lake in a tiny four-person rowboat would never forget seeing the wonder in front of them.

But at that very moment, Hogwarts could not be described as beautiful, or majestic. There was only one phrase it could be described as at that moment in time: a battlefield.

One week ago, a battle that ended a long and terrible war had been fought in the castle and on the surrounding grounds. Great chunks of the castle's walls were broken, their debris laying on the grounds, or inside the corridors and rooms, destroyed by spells or giants that had sought to destroy the great landmark.

The usually beautiful and breathtaking Great Hall still looked like a large version of the Hospital Wing, though the injured, dying and dead which were once temporary residents of the Hall had been moved over the past week to other locations far from Hogwarts.

The grounds were littered with pits and holes where spell-fire had hit. Bodies of witches, wizards, young and old, as well as all sorts of creatures who had been on either side of the battle, all of whom had perished during the great battle, were no longer resting there, having been removed over the past week.

Most of the volunteers – young and old, survivors of the great battle who had volunteered to try to rebuild Hogwarts and the grounds were away from the castle at this moment during what was known as a period of mourning, spending time with their families, or burying loved ones and friends who had not survived the battle.

However a small group of the survivors remained at Hogwarts. These survivors were a few of the remaining staff of Hogwarts, as well as one other guest who had been personally invited. They were all sitting at a large table inside the Hogwarts Staff Room, one of the few rooms which had not been touched during the battle.

Minerva McGonagall, recently named Headmistress of Hogwarts, was sitting at the head of the table. She was staring at her fellow staff members, all of whom were reading parchment in front of them, while various expressions of emotions appeared on each of their faces. The parchment in front of them were copies of a long letter which had been written to Minerva, whilst the battle was raging on in the castle. Minerva had found the letter sitting on her desk in her office, when she had entered the room a few hours after the battle, intending to find a bottle of the finest Scotch she had to drown out the memories of the battle she had participated in hours before.

The letter had been written by a student whom Minerva thought of as one of the best she had ever taught. She thought of this student, this young man, as if he was one of her own grandchildren. And yet when she had finished the letter – for the first time, as she had read the letter numerous times over the past week – she wondered if she had ever really known the young man, even though he had been her student – and one of her own cubs! - for six years.

 _Did anyone ever really know Harry Potter?_ Minerva wondered, with a frown as she looked at the letter in front of her. _Had he ever poured his heart and soul out to anybody prior to when he had written this letter to me. Perhaps, to his friends? Maybe to his godfather. No, he said he barely got to know his own godfather? He even explicitly said he wondered if his two best friends got to know his own godfather better than him. A tragedy, that is._

Minerva sighed. A tragedy – that was a fine definition of what this letter was. What Harry Potter's life was.

And like every great tragedy, Harry Potter's story ended with his death. The final lines in the letter described his plans to venture out into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort. From all the information Minerva had, it was quite likely Harry had gone through with his plans, sacrificing himself so that the battle could end.

In his letter, Harry Potter had poured out his heart and soul to her, telling her all about the past seven years of his life, ever since he had found out he was a wizard. Minerva had never received essays from Harry Potter that were longer than the letter he had written her.

 _Hell, I wonder if Miss Granger has written an essay longer than this letter!_

Hermione Granger. Minerva smiled at the thought of the young witch, but she also was fighting off tears. She had never seen someone so distraught, so broken than she had seen Hermione Granger after the young woman had discovered that Harry Potter had been killed during the battle. It wasn't until this letter that she discovered why.

 _Mr. Potter and Miss Granger were in love with each other – very deeply if this letter is anything to go by. Harry even personally asked me to make sure Hermione moved on without him. An impossible task, Mr. Potter – if your letter is any indication, you and Miss Granger had a love that is once in a lifetime. I would know. My Elphinstone was mine. You were Miss Granger's, Mr. Potter, and I already know she was yours._

Minerva looked down at the page in front of her. It was the final page of the letter, detailing the last year of Harry Potter's life. Harry had not attended his final year of education at Hogwarts, and from his letter, it seemed he had a very good reason not to.

 _Aside from him being "Undesirable Number One", of course,_ Minerva thought with a quiet snort.

Minerva had to read through this final page, more than once, during her initial reading of the letter. She could hardly believe her eyes, and her first thought upon reading it was that Harry had gone insane whilst writing it. It was only after she realized she was reading the words of the final year in the life of a young man who had walked to his own death, that she realized – every word she had read was the truth. Why would a 'dead man walking' need to lie, after all? Especially a young man like Harry Potter?

The tale told of extremely dark magic. It told of betrayal. Of myths. Of danger. Love. Hate. Death.

Horcruxes. Minerva's eyes stared at the word in one section of the letter. It had been repeated many times. Horcruxes. It was a term that was so dark, so illegal, it was basically banned from wizarding England to the point that few wizards ever even uttered the word, if they even knew the word at all. The only reference to the word in a book inside Hogwarts castle had been one short line in a book that was not located in the library, but in the Headmaster's Office. And even that reference didn't say very much about it.

And yet Harry knew about them, referenced them. Why? Because a mad man, an insane Dark wizard had – in his youth – decided to delve in the Darkest of magic, which would consume his life for the rest of his existence. Harry Potter had not gone to Hogwarts for his final year of education because of Horcruxes. Because he had to hunt them down. The mission was given to him, and it was so dangerous, so important, that he had only informed two others of it – his two best friends. Two friends who were his age. Not adults, not experts of magic, but his two friends, who were also students: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.

Minerva's lips turned to a frown as her eyes directed to another part of the letter. This section of the letter was almost as troubling as the section about Horcruxes. It spoke of betrayal. Of a broken friendship that had lasted seven years – and yet, if the story in the letter told the honest truth, it could be labeled as a false friendship.

She picked up the piece of parchment so she could read the section again. Because this was important to her – in equal importance as the section about the Horcruxes.

 _… in the days following Ron's exodus from the Horcrux Hunt, it was as if a large weight had been thrown off mine and Hermione's shoulders. Like a fog had lifted. I woke up one day, and Hermione was no longer crying, heartbroken about Ron leaving. No… she was angry now. I asked her why she was angry at Ron. I remember telling her that I thought she had been crying about him because she was in love with him._

 _She told me she was never in love with him, and if she ever seemed as if she was, it was an illusion. I was confused by that. An illusion?_

 _"Love Potion, Harry!" she told me. "Amortentia! I was being dosed, poisoned, influenced to fall in love with that traitorous git!"_

 _I didn't believe her at first. Then she asked me if I was still in love with Ginny Weasley. It was then I realized I wasn't. I wondered why I had ever been in love with Ginny. It was then I remembered there was a time I was in love with Hermione Granger. Then one day that feeling went away, and replaced with Ginny Weasley._

 _I told Hermione that, and after her initial shock that I was, at one time, in love with her, she told me I was probably also dosed with Love Potion. Not just once, either. Hermione and I figured we had been dosed multiple times over recent years._

 _I wanted to continue my discussion with Hermione about my feelings for her, and whether or not she felt the same for me. When I told her this, I caught a smile on her face. Then it disappeared and she told me the discussion would have to wait. I was angry with her, and also confused. I remember wanting to yell at her, but then she distracted me by pulling out a large cauldron, books, and a bunch of ingredients and other Potions things from her enchanted bag. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me to be quiet, and let her work._

 _So I did. And she worked. And worked. For two full days she worked, only stopping to eat food that I made for her. She did not sleep for two days._

 _Finally, she gave me a cup filled with a potion. I asked her what it was, and she told me it was a Flushing Draught. She told me to drink it, and I did. I felt an extreme and sudden urge to go to the bathroom, and I went to relieve myself._

 _Next thing I knew I woke up in my bed with dozens of new memories and new experiences that I thought at first was a dream. When I told her of this, she told me I was not dreaming and that it was my real memories and experiences coming back to me. It was due to the Flushing Draught. Apparently the Draught made me faint on the toilet, and Hermione had Levitated me to my bed._

 _What I remembered, I thought was impossible…_

Minerva wiped tears away from her eyes with a handkerchief from her pocket. The next few bits of the letter told a story of great betrayal and forbidden love. Well, forbidden was the wrong word. It should not have been forbidden, but various persons of interest who did not favor a romantic relationship between Mr. Potter and Miss Granger decided it was so.

 _Albus Dumbledore. Molly Weasley. Ronald and Ginevra Weasley._ All names implicated as the perpetrators behind the betrayal.

Love Potions. Loyalty Potions. Revulsion Potions directed to each other so that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger would not recognize their love for each other. Multiple incidents of Obliviations – mostly as a result of betrayals being discovered, or various moments of romance over the years between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

 _Seventeen first kisses –_ that was what Harry had written. Seventeen times – in the span of four years -Harry and Hermione had what they thought was their first kiss, igniting a romance that took place for hours up to a week and a half before being Obliviated of all knowledge of their romantic interests.

This was rather impressive in itself, given Harry and Hermione's suspicions about being dosed repeatedly with Love Potions. But it was also proof that true love always found a way to bring two people together, even during hardships and struggles.

Even though it was the romantic relationship between the two that was the main reason behind the Obliviations and Potions, the betrayals had started long before the pair initially realized how they felt for each other. In his letter, Harry wrote about how he had discovered these betrayals.

Ron Weasley had returned a few weeks after his exodus, only to be Stunned, tied up and interrogated by Harry and Hermione. Apparently Hermione had come upon Veritaserum, because they had given Ron a dosage of it. During the interrogation, Harry discovered how he had been manipulated and betrayed from very early on. Even his very first visit to Diagon Alley had been manipulated! His initial meeting with the Weasleys had been a set-up, planned by the Matriarch of the Weasleys and Albus Dumbledore!

Albus Dumbledore. The so-called Leader of the Light. The wise, infallible, grandfatherly mentor whom everybody loved and respected. He was the main perpetrator behind these Obliviations. After Minerva had originally read this section of the letter – she had read it three times before she realized she must have been Obliviated by Dumbledore too over the years, because how could she not recognize the romance between two of her favorite students, two of her own Lions – she had taken a Flushing Draught herself.

So many revelations, so many implications, so many things she had forgotten over the years, all because of one manipulative old man who she thought she looked up to and trusted!

Minerva put down the letter as one, by one, her fellow staff members – and their guest she personally invited – set down the letters. Some either picked up handkerchiefs or napkins to wipe the tears off their faces, whilst others picked up glasses of the alcohol in front of them and drained them.

Minerva looked around at each of them. Sitting around the table were Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, . Poppy Pomfrey, Septima Vector, Aurora Sinistra, Bathsheda Babbling, Horace Slughorn and Rolanda Hooch. At the other end of the table, also seated, was the special guest, Saul Croaker. Croaker was the Head Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries in the British Ministry of Magic. Minerva had invited him to the meeting for one specific reason.

"Minerva, I am not sure whether I want to yell at you for reading this letter, or thank you," Septima Vector said, "I wish Mr. Potter had taken my class – especially if his essays were anything like this."

"They weren't," Pomona Sprout said, "Sometimes I wondered if the lad even knew how to write an essay. Him and Weasley – the youngest boy, I mean."

"He was a smart boy," Filius Flitwick said, "I know he was. Perhaps not as smart as most of my 'Claws, or even Miss Granger, but that's not saying much! Who could compete with Granger?! Even my 'Claws could not – she should have been one of mine, but I digress. I always knew Mr. Potter was holding back his talents."

"It was because of that Weasley boy," Aurora Sinistra said, "Wasn't it? Potter didn't want to outshine Weasley, because he thought he'd lose the boy as a friend. Weasley always did seem overly insecure and easily prone to jealousy."

"Yet, according to this, the boy never was his friend, was he?" Sprout said, frowning, "How could none of us have seen that coming?"

"We did see it coming," Minerva said.

"You must be joking, Minerva!" Rolanda Hooch said, "Someone among us would have done something!"

"We saw it coming, and were unable to stop it, because –" Minerva sighed and blinked away her tears, "Because Albus Dumbledore made sure we wouldn't be able to stop it."

"What?!" a few people at the table yelled out.

"Come now, Minerva!" Septima Vector said, "Albus was a great man and – Minerva, I have never known you as someone to speak ill of the dead. Especially Albus Dumbledore! He was your friend, your mentor!"

"Septima!" Poppy exclaimed in shock, "How can you believe that? Now, of all times. I thought you read Mr. Potter's letter! All the things he had to say…"

"I can hardly believe it," Bathsheda Babbling said, "Albus Dumbledore was a great man!"

"Albus Dumbledore was a great man," Minerva whispered, as a thought crossed her mind, "How many times have we heard that? 'Was a great man' 'Is a great man'. Hagrid seems to say it every time the man's name comes up."

"Because that is what Albus Dumbledore wanted you to believe," Saul Croaker said, speaking up for the first time. "When it comes to mind-altering Potions, there is always a clue that you can find that the dosed victim isn't in their right mind. It is quite obvious that the phrase 'Albus Dumbledore is – or was – a great man' is the identifier here. Ladies and gentlemen, you have all been swindled… manipulated by a master of the art of manipulation. Albus Dumbledore was not a great man, and yet everyone who was close to him, seems to believe he was… can anyone tell me why?"

"Loyalty Potions," Minerva said. "Even near a year after his demise, you are still under the influence of Loyalty Potions, keyed to the man. I was too… until I realized how angry I was at Harry Potter for shaming such a good man's name. I took a Flushing Draught minutes after I came to this realization, and then I gave one to Poppy, only because I needed her expertise to brew the Draught."

"Minerva, I take offense at that!" Horace Slughorn exclaimed, "Why did you not come to me?! I could have brewed you the Draught!"

"You?" Minerva asked, "You, who couldn't even identify a poison inside the mead you were given?!"

"I… yes, that was a blunder of mine," Horace admitted.

"Your blunder almost cost a boy his life!" Minerva accused, "Why would I go to you?"

"I am adept at Flushing Draughts, Minerva," Horace said, "In fact, I make and take them at least once a week. Never know when you could be under the influence of Imperius Curses, enchantments, or potions such as a Loyalty Potion."

"And yet you never warned the rest of us that we were under the influence of Loyalty Potions?" Minerva asked.

"You likely wouldn't have believed me!" Horace complained.

"Loyalty Potions?!" Babbling echoed, "You believe my loyalty to a great man such as Albus Dumbledore is due to a Potion?! How dare you, Minerva McGonagall!"

"See!" Horace exclaimed, pointing at the Ancient Runes Professor, but looking at Minerva, "That would have likely been your reaction!"

But the Ancient Runes Professor wasn't listening. She merely pointed her finger at Minerva in accusation.

"If you believe in this rubbish, then tell me this!" she growled, "Albus has been dead nearly a year? How could he have dosed me beyond the grave?"

"He couldn't have," Minerva conceded, then at Babbling's victorious smirk, she continued, "But Severus Snape could have continued to do so… adding himself into the mix as well. Who do you think brewed those Potions, but the resident Potions Master himself!"

"You're lucky I'm not taking offense to that," Slughorn said, with a grin, "But I must argue with you on this one. Couldn't Albus have brewed the Potion himself?"

"He didn't want to risk getting caught, Horace," Minerva said, "If Snape was caught then, well –"

"With his past, it would have been him to take the fall," Slughorn said, nodding, "I see. Yes, you're right. Even if he did try to implicate Albus, Albus would have thrown Snape under the carriage, and everyone would believe him over the Death Eater."

"Albus would not do that!" Babbling exclaimed.

"Bathsheda," Minerva said, "Calm down, you're only saying this because –"

"Because of Potions?!" Babbling growled, "What rubbish! I'm leaving! I –"

She tried to stand from her chair, but she could not move. Others at the table were realizing they could not move either.

"What is going on?!" Hooch asked, panicky, "I can't move!"

"Neither can I!" Vector complained, in near hysterics.

"Enough!" Croaker roared, before Minerva could speak up.

Those complaining went silent.

"Whether you wish to believe or don't believe whether you have been dosed with Loyalty Potions is not up for debate," Croaker continued, "Minerva and Poppy were both under the influence of this Potion and others, as well as having been the victim of multiple Obliviations. Therefore they, and I, have reasons to suspect the rest of you are as well. I am going to perform an enchantment that will act like Flushing Draughts, but will not make you lapse into unconsciousness. Neither will it make you regain any lost memories, like the Draughts will. The effects are only temporary, but necessary for the remainder of this meeting. Madam Pomfrey will administer the Draughts on all of you after this meeting."

Some of the staff members were still struggling, but Croaker ignored them and cast the long, complicated enchantment. As soon as he was finished, nobody at the table continued to struggle. Now some were showing expressions of anger, while others were openly weeping.

"Minerva, I…" Babbling said, after wiping tears from her face, "I would like to apologize –"

"Unnecessary," Minerva interrupted, with a smile, "If I had still been under the influence of the Potions and you had been in my position, trying to convince me, I might have been in your position, arguing with you about whether or not Albus Dumbledore was a great man. He was a very good friend to me… and he was also my mentor."

Many at the table were nodding in agreement. They had considered Albus Dumbledore a good friend and mentor.

"But he had some deep, dark secrets," Minerva continued, "especially when it came to V… Voldemort and Harry Potter. Most of us probably have heard him say the phrase 'The Greater Good' several times when he thought we weren't listening to him. Rita Skeeter may be a nasty woman, but she did tell many truths in her book about Albus. Especially concerning 'The Greater Good'.

"Enough about Albus for now. Now that your minds are temporarily clear of the enchantments and befuddlements that has been forced upon you, we need to get to main reasons behind this meeting. I told you before I gave you the copies of Harry Potter's letter to read, that I found the letter on my desk hours after the battle had finished. That was quite true.

"Over the past week I have been quite busy. Those who saw me over the past week might have been worried about my behavior. I was quite distracted, that is true. As I alluded to earlier, once I read through Mr. Potter's letter several times, I wondered to myself why I had never seen any evidence of the romantic relationship between Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. After all they are –"

She paused, frowned and cleared her throat. "- were two of my favorite lions and students, I will freely admit. If they had so many 'first kisses', and then you take in account the fact that secrets only last so long around here before their discovery, why had I never once seen evidence of their romantic relationship? Especially from two of my favorite students?"

Filius Flitwick gasped and almost fell out of his chair before righting himself. "He didn't?! Did he?"

"Filius?" Pomona asked.

"If Albus wanted to obliviate all evidence of the romantic relationship between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger from their minds," Flitwick said, "He would have to do more than just that! He would have to remove the evidence from not just their mind… but ours too. And the students!"

"What?!" several staff members asked, while others gasped.

"I see where your theory is going, Master Flitwick," Croaker said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Albus would have likely realized that, to remove the evidence of a romantic relationship between Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, he could not have anyone – staff _or_ student – come to them and ask them what happened between the couple and why they no longer seemed to be a couple. He'd have to remove the evidence from everyone. It is quite possible, actually. As Headmaster, Albus would have been in control of the House Elves. All he would have to do is instruct the kitchen elves to give cups or jugs filled with Potions – or drinks laced with Potion – to all the students and staff, in order to make them forget."

"Possible, very possible," Slughorn said, nodding, "Albus was an expert Alchemist, after all. If anyone could have modified the Forgetfulness Potion so that the drinker would directly forget specific details – yes, it could be theoretically plausible."

"Albus also had a history of stopping owls from sending letters out," Minerva said, "We all – aside from Horace and Saul, who weren't here to experience it, of course- remember the Chamber of Secrets fiasco a few years ago. If Albus hadn't stopped their owls, students could have sent letters with concerns about the incident, to their parents, perhaps wanting to leave the school. The parents would then contact the DMLE, and Amelia Bones and the Aurors would have been here to investigate. Something Albus apparently did not approve of. So yes, he could have stopped any letters going out about gossip pertaining to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's romantic relationship, so that nobody outside the school would know of the relationship either."

"It did get out once, however!" Madam Hooch said, "We all remember, I am sure, Rita Skeeter and her gossip rag during the Triwizard Tournament. Her articles of a love triangle between Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and the Durmstrang Champion."

"Of course!" Flitwick exclaimed, almost falling out of his chair again, "She was a beetle Animagus, according to Mr. Potter, in his letter! She could have used her Animagus form, and caught the couple during one of their romantic moments… and Albus would have caught wind of it, Obliviated them, and used his modified Forgetfulness Potion to remove the memories of their relationship so that everyone would just think it was Rita using her articles to smear lies again!"

"Quite plausible," Minerva said, "Continuing my original line of thought, after realizing I was likely under the influence of some kind of enchantment or Potion affecting my mind and memory, I went to Poppy. I took a Flushing Draught then ordered her to do the same. We both remembered everything."

"Including why I never reported all those damn scars and evidence of abuse I found on Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey growled, "Evidence of malnourishment, history of several broken bones not healing right, his eyesight being so poor, and that scar on his forehead, of course! I knew there was something wrong about that particular scar! I am surprised – nay, _shocked!_ —that the Healer Oaths I took never backfired on me for not reporting these things to the proper authorities."

"The Oath designated Albus as the proper authority, Madam Pomfrey," Croaker said, "You reported your evidence to him and he –"

"Removed the knowledge from me so I wouldn't do anything about it!" Madam Pomfrey scowled, "So many times… Potter was in my Wing multiple times over several years, and after every single meeting, that bastard -!"

The Healer blushed at her use of foul language and went quiet.

"It is okay, Poppy," Minerva reassured her friend, with a soothing tone, "I am sure we all share the same sentiments."

Most of those seated at the table murmured in agreement, some louder than others.

"Poppy was hard at work helping to heal the injured from the Battle of Hogwarts," Minerva continued, "So I knew I could not include her in my plans and plotting at that moment in time. So I planned alone. I read Mr. Potter's letter several times – countless times, perhaps. I'd keep it on me at all times, so I could read it again if I had forgotten any of it. It was that important to me. You see, my mind was cooking up plans and plots and I hadn't really realized exactly what my final solutions would be. At least, not for a couple of days. That was why I appeared to be so distracted. Along with the letter, I also had a personal notebook to jot down pieces of plans I was cooking up."

She removed the aforementioned notebook of parchment from her robes and set it on the table in front of her.

"At first, I didn't know what my end-game for my plans was truly going to be," Minerva said, "My mind was going in so many directions. I think at first I was debating whether or not I should simply publish this letter in the Daily Prophet and Quibbler as is. My second idea was to get the proof of the betrayals and manipulations and plotting that Mr. Potter had written about. But the Ministry is in a upheaval at the moment, so even if I could tell them about the Weasleys – specifically Molly, Ronald and Ginevra - plotting and what they had done, who knows how long it would have taken for the Weasleys to be punished for it. And I also didn't know if the Weasleys had their own connections in the Ministry and whether or not they would find out about my investigation before anything could be done about it."

She sighed deeply and wrung her hands together. "Then one day, a few days ago, a single thought crossed my mind. A question, actually. The question: Why? Why did it matter anyway? It is too late to get justice for Mr. Potter."

"But what about Miss Granger?" Septima Vector said, "That poor girl could be given those Potions again, without her knowing! We must do something to help her!"

"We're going to help Miss Granger, Septima," Minerva said, "But we're also going to help Mr. Potter."

The staff around the table looked quite confused.

"I am afraid I'm not following, Minerva," Pomona Sprout murmured.

Others at the table murmured in agreement.

"I understand if what I am about to tell you will be hard to understand," Minerva said, "I came up with a plan that was extremely complicated in itself, and also very controversial. At first, I didn't even think it would be possible. I thought it was a simple crazy brainstorm from a mind that was already too stormy. I thought I might have been going mad there for a little while! But I continued thinking through on this plan. I contacted Unspeakable Croaker here and asked him to meet with me, in secret. To my ever thankful relief, he found it in his busy schedule to accept my invitation. I gave him a copy of Mr. Potter's letter to read and then I discussed with him my plans that I had come up with."

Minerva cleared her throat. "To my utter relief, Unspeakable Croaker told me that my plans, while difficult, were also very plausible."

"And what was this plan?" Filius asked.

Minerva decided to not beat around the bush anymore. "My plan is for myself, and anyone in this room who agrees to volunteer, to travel through time back to the year 1991, right before Harry Potter receives his initial letter, inviting him to become a student here at Hogwarts."

Every member of the staff gasped in shock, but fortunately for Minerva, they were too shocked to interrupt her.

"The time travel procedure Unspeakable Croaker described to me was thus," she continued, "We would not be using any form of Time Turner, nay… the procedure would send our _minds_ and _memories_ back to our 1991 selves, merging with ourselves in that time, and we would remember everything that happened between then and now."

Her fellow staff were still silent, and still appeared shell-shocked, so she continued on.

"From there," she continued, "we would do our damnedest to make sure that all the troubling events Mr. Potter described in this letter would never come to pass. We would make sure that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger would never fall under the manipulations and betrayals of Albus Dumbledore and the Weasleys. However, our main mission would be to make sure to minimize the horrible events that transpired over the last several years. Everything Mr. Potter described here – the troll in his first year, and the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, those damned Dementors making Hogwarts their home, Mr. Potter's involvement in the Triwizard Tournament, and especially… especially… everything to do with V… Voldemort, his Death Eaters, the war and everything that transpired during the years following Voldemort's return!

"And most importantly, it would be _us_ who would be responsible for making sure the horrors described in this letter never come to pass. Not Mr. Potter, not Miss Granger, but _us!"_

Everyone at the table, aside from Minerva and Croaker started speaking in raised voices.

"Are you insane, Minerva?!" Sprout exclaimed.

"Time Travel is something that should _never_ be messed with!" Septima Vector scowled.

"Are you sure the Flushing Draught worked correctly, Poppy?" Bathsheda Babbling asked.

"Enough!" Minerva barked out.

The table went silent.

"Thirty-three," Minerva said.

A couple of the teachers gasped, others looked uncomfortable, and a couple of them had tears pooling in their eyes. They knew what that number represented, having discovered the importance of it a couple days prior.

"Thirty-three victims below the age of twenty," Minerva said, "The majority of whom were still students whom had been in classes just the day before the battle. The rest of whom came to Hogwarts having heard about the coming battle, whom had graduated only in the last year or three. Children… aye, the youngest was fifteen, and I don't know how they were able to participate when we had evacuated most of those underage, but they were here.

"Thirty-three victims under the age of twenty who had their whole lives ahead of them. And that isn't counting everyone else above twenty who participated and gave their lives.

"This is a tragedy, my friends. A tragedy that could have been prevented had we been able to do anything about it. Long before the Ministry was taken over by Voldemort and his filth, there was still filth and dirt inside those halls… corruption even to the highest office. Imagine, if you will, when Voldemort had returned to his body on the night of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, that the Ministry did not sit on their butts and hide their heads in the ground. Imagine if the Ministry was prepared, the Auror Department was at its best, and Voldemort's return was known far and wide across magical Great Britain. What would have happened?

"I can tell you what probably would have happened! The war wouldn't have lasted this long, that is for certain. Good, innocent lives might have been lost, that is true. But this many – not just including the final battle, but over the last few years? With my plan, we would have this knowledge. We could save so many lives, and stop the war before it even started!"

Most of those seated at the table were silent, but their expressions were emotional, whilst also being deep in thought.

"Whilst I agree with most of what you said, Minerva," Croaker said, "I am afraid one of those points you made would not be possible."

"Which point?" Minerva asked.

"No matter how you might hope and want it to never come to pass again," Croaker said, "Harry Potter must be involved when it comes to Voldemort's final defeat."

Minerva scowled, and she wasn't the only one upset.

"No, I refuse to believe it!" Bathsheda Babbling said, "If I understand Minerva correctly… even if her insane idea of time travel is possible, we'd be doing this to make sure that Mr. Potter never had to suffer what he described in his letter! And you're telling me he has to do the very thing that ended up killing him?!"

"I am sure you all remember the articles that came out in the Daily Prophet a couple summers ago," Croaker said, "Calling Harry Potter 'The Chosen One' due to rumors of a prophecy in which Mr. Potter was destined to defeat Voldemort."

"I know there is a prophecy involved," Minerva said, "Dumbledore had everyone in the Order guarding the entrance to the Department of Mysteries the year following Voldemort's return. It was easy to theorize that Voldemort wanted something in there, and a prophecy was the easiest thing to come up with. I can't deny that there is a prophecy, no matter how much I detest the subject of Divination."

There were knowing smirks and murmurs around the table. Minerva's opinion of Divination was well known. Which was likely one of the main reasons Sybil Trelawney wasn't present at the current meeting.

"But Dumbledore held the knowledge of the Prophecy very close to his chest," Minerva said, "I know Harry knew about the Prophecy, but I never knew what it said… but if he did know, he would have put it in the letter to me, would he not?!"

"Unless magic was acting against him doing so," Croaker said, "I'm not talking about any of the enchantments he was under, however. No, this was an enchantment geared toward the Prophecy. After the break-in and battle in the Department of Mysteries, my colleagues and I discovered, quite easily what all the hub-bub – if you forgive my term – was all about! We also realized that Voldemort did not know what the Prophecy truly said, and we know that as long as he did not know, then Mr. Potter would have a clear, clean advantage he really, truly needed. So we put an enchantment on the Prophecy. Anyone who did not know about the Prophecy before the enchantment was placed, would never be able to discover what it said.

"However, I know what the Prophecy said, and I am willing to tell you."

"Tell us, please," Minerva requested, "It is important, going forward, especially if you believe Harry must be involved in Voldemort's defeat."

"Hold up," Flitwick said, "Are we sure we truly want to hear it right now? We all know Albus was a Master of Legilimency. If we go through with this plan, we would already be at risk of him discovering we are no longer under enchantments he put us under. That, plus us having knowledge of the contents of this Prophecy… it could be very risky."

"That does not matter," Croaker said, waving a dismissive hand, "I have the means to assist you in preventing Albus Dumbledore from discovering your secrets. I will be giving each of you a pendant which will hide any evidence of your time travel secret, and your freedom from his enchantments, from any attacks of Legilimency he decides to attempt."

"A pendant?" Septima Vector asked, "Wait… are you saying it is possible for us to take things back in time with us?"

"It is possible," Croaker said, "But I will explain that in time. You all need to hear this Prophecy, otherwise your mission may be a failure without its knowledge."

"I agree," Minerva said, before anyone else could respond or argue, "We should at least hear it and know what it says before we discuss what to do concerning Mr. Potter when it comes to Voldemort."

Her fellow staff murmured, but nobody argued against hearing the Prophecy.

"The Prophecy says this," Croaker said, before clearing his throat. " _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._ "

Minerva sagged and covered her mouth with her handkerchief to stop her shuddering gasps. Others around the table were experiencing similar emotions.

"So now you understand," Croaker said, "Harry Potter is the Chosen One. As it was done in the present, so too would it have to be done in the past, Harry Potter is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. This you must understand if you have any hope of accomplishing your mission."


	11. Untitled Harmony Time Travel Story

**Title: Untitled Harmony Time-Travel Story**

 **Summary: Harry and Hermione Potter travel back in time to the middle of their fourth year in Hogwarts, in order to defeat not one, but two Dark Lords.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings: Time Travel, Sexual Situations, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys and others; other warnings labeled individually in chapters.**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione, Sirius/Amelia**

 **Disclaimer:** J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.

 **Author's Note: I am sure my readers are wondering when the next chapter of Yule Ball Drama is coming. Unfortunately, my computer is currently going through battery cord issues, where it likes to disconnect. I don't want to lose what I write, in case my computer unexpectedly shuts off or something. So that's put me off writing.**

 **So, I've decided to give you a preview of the story I plan to publish after I finish Yule Ball Drama. I actually wrote everything you'll see here in my downtime when I had taken time off between Book 1 and 2 of Yule Ball Drama.**

 **Two important things to note about this. The first is that this will likely be split into two chapters when it gets published in the story. And two, this might not be the first chapter you see in the story. This chapter is rather confusing, because it doesn't explain a lot of why Harry and Hermione decided to go back in time. It merely teases you, because it assumes you already know why. Why? Because this is intended to be the first of many flashback chapters. My original plans was for the story to begin the night before the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, then go back with flashbacks that lead up to that moment in time. But there is a possibility this will be the first (and second?) chapter of the story. If so, then there will be a lot more explanation about why they came back in time.**

* * *

 **February 23** **rd** **, 1995 – Day before Second Task of Triwizard Tournament.**

Harry Potter blinked his eyes open and looked around. He grinned when he saw the once familiar curtains around his four-poster bed in the Gryffindor dormitory. From Harry's perspective, it had been roughly a year and a half since he had seen a bed in the Gryffindor dormitory. He reached under his pillow and found his wand, where he had usually put it when he slept at Hogwarts.

"Tempus," Harry whispered.

On the ceiling of the four-poster bed, a date and time appeared:

 _Wednesday, February 23_ _rd_ _, 1995 – 5:45AM_

Harry grinned. The ritual had worked! Hermione had been particularly worried about _when_ they would return, but Harry had assured her that as long as they arrived several weeks or months before the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, everything they had planned would still work. If Harry remembered correctly, today was the day before the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament. That evening – at least in the original timeline – Hermione would be summoned to Dumbledore's office by Professor McGonagall and find herself at the bottom of the lake the following morning, as a hostage for Viktor Krum to rescue.

 _Not this time,_ Harry vowed. _Hermione will have no part in the Second Task._

That had already been agreed upon between Harry and Hermione, if they had arrived before the Second Task.

 _Note,_ Harry thought, _Find Professor McGonagall sometime today, and tell her that we know Hermione will be one of the chosen hostages for the Second Task, and Hermione will tell her that she will take no part in the task. But first! Time to meet up with Hermione._

Harry sat up and opened the curtains of his bed. He frowned as he looked across to the neighboring bed where Ron Weasley was sound asleep, and snoring. The git hadn't even bothered to close his curtains, which were soundproof to prevent others from hearing the occupant's snoring.

 _We'll deal with you, your sister and your mother eventually, you bastard,_ Harry said, _Just like we did last time. You think I was angry at you for your betrayal after the Choosing Ceremony, you haven't seen anything yet!_

Ignoring the traitorous ex-best friend, Harry walked over to his school trunk and rummaged through his clothes. Knowing he would have to suffer classes that day, he took out one of his school outfits, which he proceeded to quickly change into. After checking his class schedule to remind himself of what classes he had that day, he placed the necessary books and items into his knapsack then walked out of his dormitory. He made his way downstairs, and found the Common Room mostly empty. It wasn't even six-o-clock yet, so most of the Gryffindors were likely still asleep. There was one person there, and it was the one person he was waiting for: his wife, fellow time traveler and the love of his life, Hermione Potter – or rather, Hermione Granger at this moment in time. She looked immediately in his direction and smiled in relief when she saw him.

"I am suddenly realizing how truly dumb I was at this age," Harry said, "How could I have been pining after Cho Chang, when a true vision of beauty stands in front of me?"

Hermione blushed and shook her head. "Doesn't matter, Harry. If I run into Viktor, I'll let him know that any kind of relationship we might have had is over."

"I didn't have any doubts," Harry said.

He walked over to Hermione, took her in his arms and kissed her soundly on the lips. Hermione hummed against his lips and kissed him back.

"We made it, Harry," Hermione whispered, after backing away from Harry's lips, "The ritual worked. We're here."

"We are," Harry said.

"However," Hermione said, frowning, "It is the day before the Second Task. I was rather hoping we'd either arrive after the Second Task or weeks before it."

"Doesn't matter," Harry said, "Doesn't change much. We have plenty of time before the Third Task. We'll go to the Room of Requirement, just as we planned. Discuss everything we need to do, and make sure we remember all of our plans. Then sometime today, we meet with Professor McGonagall, and tell her under no circumstances will you participate in the Second Task."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione asked. "I don't need to be Viktor's hostage. I could be yours, instead of the Weasley git."

"No, Hermione," Harry said, "We've already theorized what could happen if that took place. Ron would get jealous that you are whom I'd miss the most, as would Ginny. It might cause them to contact their mother and have her brew Love Potions. Our plans would be completely ruined if that happened."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "You're right. We must let the timeline remain the same for a little while longer."

"Not exactly the same, especially when it comes to you and Krum," Harry said.

"Right," Hermione said, "But I doubt that will change anything too significant."

"True," Harry agreed, "Shall we go to the Room of Requirement then?"

Hermione agreed, and the two time travelers made their way out of the Common Room.

"You two are up rather early," the Fat Lady complained sleepily, as Harry and Hermione stepped into the corridor, "I usually have another half-hour before I have to deal with you Gryffindors."

"Just out for a private stroll before breakfast," Hermione said.

The Fat Lady raised her eyebrows as her portrait shut itself. Then she smirked as she looked at the pair of them.

"Well, it seems the two of you have finally figured out how compatible you are with each other," she said, grinning.

"We have," Hermione said, "But keep that to yourself, please. We're trying to keep it a secret for now."

"I promise," the Fat Lady said, "I won't even tell Violet. Merlin knows if I tell her, the news will be all over the castle in hours."

"Thank you, dear Lady," Hermione said.

"Enjoy your stroll," the Fat Lady said.

Harry and Hermione thanked her, then, hand-in-hand, made their way through the seventh floor corridors, before they finally reached the area near the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy. Harry stared at the familiar wall for a moment, frowning in contemplation.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry," Hermione said, "We can get the Diadem later."

Harry sighed and nodded. "I know. It isn't like it will go anywhere before we collect it. It just feels… real now, you know? We're a few feet from one of his Horcruxes. He's alive again, and we're fourth year students at Hogwarts again."

"He may be alive, that is true, Harry," Hermione said, "But so is Cedric, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and her family, Kingsley, and everyone else we lost."

"Right, yeah, I know," Harry said, "And alive they will remain. Right. Let's get this started."

He released Hermione's hand and walked over to the familiar blank wall.

 _I need a cozy, welcoming room for two to have a private conversation,_ Harry thought.

Harry repeated this request twice more, and a door appeared in the wall. Harry opened the door, and stepped into the room, followed by Hermione. The room was the size of the Gryffindor Common Room. Like the Common Room, it had a loveseat, two cozy chairs, and a coffee table near a roaring, warm fireplace. The rest of the room was mostly empty, but more could be added in the space if either occupants of the room had requested anything. Harry took Hermione's hand again, and they made their way over to the loveseat and sat down. Immediately, Hermione opened her knapsack and rummaged through it. She took out a quill, ink and a notepad of parchment.

"Shall we do this chronologically then?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Harry agreed, "Less confusing that way."

"Right," Hermione said, "Alright, first things first. The Second Task."

"Sometime today, doesn't matter when as long as it is before dinner," Harry said, "We're going to meet with McGonagall. We're going to tell her we know you're going to be chosen as Viktor Krum's hostage."

"I'll raise a fuss about that," Hermione said, "I'll tell Professor McGonagall I refuse to have any part as a hostage in the Second Task."

"If she even has one objection," Harry said, "We'll tell her that Dumbledore and the other Tournament officials will have to find someone else either way for Krum. Because they won't be able to find you. You'll be hiding here between this evening until the end of the Second Task. We'll request to the room that nobody can enter the room but you and me until we say so otherwise. Not even Dumbledore would be able to find you."

"I like it," Hermione said, "It isn't like I won't have anything to do. I'll be busy cooking up the potions required for our Doppelgangers so that they can have a personality, and also crafting the Doppelgangers themselves."

The Doppelganger was something Hermione had come up with sometime after she and Harry had decided to travel back in time. In order for them to successfully complete their missions and tasks before the Third Task, they had to be away from Hogwarts, which was problematic in itself since they would be fourth year students again. So Hermione had come up with the Doppelganger plan. The Doppelgangers were magical constructs, identical to a person as long as you had a few drops of their blood. In this case, the Doppelgangers would look and act like the fourth-year versions of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The potion needed for this to work was rather complicated. The most complicated ingredient was memories. In this case, Harry and Hermione's memories of their fourth year in the days between the Second and Third Tasks. The reason for this, was so that the Doppelgangers would be controlled by the memories and experiences of Harry and Hermione's lives as fourth year students, while the real Harry and Hermione were away from Hogwarts completing their tasks and missions. Basically the Doppelgangers would act like the real Harry and Hermione did in the original timeline.

"Thankfully, the most complicated ingredients are the memories and blood," Hermione said, "I already have all the other ingredients on hand. But that is why I invented the potion this way – because I knew I couldn't just go out and buy ingredients. I needed ingredients I could find here in Hogwarts, or already had in my Potions kit. Everything I need to craft the Doppelgangers, I can probably request from this Room."

"We need the Doppelgangers to be ready by the time the initial hoot and holler of post-Second Task celebrations are done," Harry said, "so we can leave without notice while our Doppelgangers are living our lives here. The last thing we'll do before we leave Hogwarts is claim Ravenclaw's Diadem. Now, I suppose the next step is one of two options. Do we meet with Keeper Ragnok at Gringotts first, or seek out Sirius first?"

Hermione bit her lip as she stared at her notepad.

"Sirius," Hermione said, "We know he's somewhere near Hogsmeade. We could send him a letter today and tell him to meet us at the cave outside Hogsmeade in the near future."

"Right," Harry said, then a memory sparked in his mind. "Wait… didn't Sirius send me a letter around this time? Damn it. Why didn't I check my trunk for it?"

"I do recall he sent you a letter before the Second Task," Hermione said, then shrugged. "I do remember you sent the letter with an owl that wasn't Hedwig. But Hedwig is pretty fast. So if your past self had sent him a letter recently, maybe Hedwig can get there with your new one faster?"

"Maybe," Harry said. "But… wait…"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"That would mean he isn't in Hogsmeade yet," Harry asked, "We may have to wait a few days before we can leave."

Hermione bit her lip again. "If he isn't in Hogsmeade at the moment, we could do one of two things. The first… would be rather illegal, but we will be doing some illegal things soon. We could make him a Portkey, so he could get to Hogsmeade faster."

"That's a possibility," Harry said, "What is the other option?"

"Well, if we have to wait for Sirius to get to Hogsmeade by himself," Hermione said, "we'll go to Gringotts first. Hmm… if that happens, we can always rent a room in the Three Broomsticks while waiting for Sirius, while our Doppelgangers are here. We're planning on getting the Metamorph Amulets from your Vault when we go to Gringotts anyway."

Metamorph Amulets were an invention of Lily Potter's, which she had created after completing her Hogwarts education, but before she and James moved to Godric's Hollow with baby Harry. It was basically Polyjuice Potion – or the Metamorphmagus ability – in an amulet. While wearing the amulet – be it on a bracelet or a necklace – the wearer would simply need to envision themselves having a different appearance and, due to the enchantments in the amulet, their body would morph into that appearance.

Harry had found this invention in one of his mother's diaries he had found in one of the Potter family Vaults. There were also actual Metamorph Amulets in the Vault as well. From what his mother had written in her diaries, Harry had deduced that she was planning on selling them eventually to the public, but had never had the opportunity before her death. Therefore, the Amulets in the Potter Vaults were the only ones in existence. Harry and Hermione planned to pose as a couple in their mid-twenties whilst their Doppelgangers were at Hogwarts.

"Well, then," Harry said, "Should we make a Portkey to send to Sirius?"

"We could," Hermione said, "and if Sirius doesn't feel safe using it, we'll just have to wait for him to arrive."

Harry nodded, "So Sirius and Gringotts. I suppose we'll have to just let those two tasks be interchangeable until we figure out which one will happen first."

"Right," Hermione said, and jotted something in her notepad. "So what do we tell Sirius?"

"Everything," Harry said, immediately.

"Everything?" Hermione asked, "I know we debated whether or not we should tell him everything. But do we really need to?"

"We're going to need his help to either speak to Kreacher, or go into Grimmauld Place itself to get the locket," Harry said. "We also have no idea what Dumbledore had to do to get to the Resurrection Stone in the Gaunt House. So we might need Sirius' help for that as well. I am also unsure about how Sirius feels about Dumbledore at this point in time. Whether or not he completely supports Dumbledore, or has his own doubts about the man. Therefore, we need to tell him about Dumbledore, and we might as well tell him about the Weasleys as well. Also…"

"We might need his help to find Dumbledore's Horcrux," Hermione said.

"Correct," Harry said, grimacing.

Out of all of their tasks they needed to do, finding Dumbledore's Horcrux appeared to be the most difficult. For one, they only had a few ideas about what it could actually be. They had never actually discovered what _or_ where the Horcrux was before they came back in time. That was actually the main reason they had come back in time. So they could have another chance at finding Dumbledore's Horcrux, before he decided to reveal himself to Great Britain, and essentially the world, as the true Dark Lord he was.

Finding and destroying Voldemort's horcruxes, and defeating Voldemort in the Graveyard the night of the Third Task was quite simple in comparison to finding Dumbledore's Horcrux, destroying it, and defeating the man. Which was why they were focused on the former at the moment. After Voldemort was defeated, they could focus on Dumbledore and finding his Horcrux. Because after Harry defeated Voldemort without dying in the process, Dumbledore would likely repeat history, only this time three years earlier, but without the necessity of "coming back from the dead". He would likely accuse Harry of going down a Dark path because of killing Voldemort. In Dumbledore's words "when the Horcrux, which had been inside Harry's scar since that terrible Halloween night, was destroyed, it unleashed Voldemort's own Darkness into Harry himself. Harry Potter must be stopped before he becomes another Voldemort, another Dark Lord."

In truth, Dumbledore was the real Dark Lord, and in fact he was _the_ Dark Lord that Trelawney had, via Prophecy, predicted that the One would vanquish. It wasn't Voldemort – Dumbledore had chosen Voldemort as a scapegoat so that Harry wouldn't realize that Dumbledore was the one he needed to vanquish. To prove that, they needed something they didn't have last time because it was destroyed – the prophecy orb in the Department of Mysteries. If the Prophecy was still lit up after Voldemort was defeated, then that meant Dumbledore was the true Dark Lord of the Prophecy. So it went without saying that a visit to the Department of Mysteries was on the list of their many tasks to accomplish.

"I suppose we will have to tell him everything then," Hermione said, nodding. "I guess I would feel a bit better if we had someone 'in the know' when it came to our secret, so we had somebody to talk to about it. Sirius does seem like the perfect person for that."

"On the subject of Sirius, since it will likely come up when we speak to him," Harry said, "Should we wait until we have a chance to bring Peter Pettigrew back from the graveyard after the Third Task, in order to prove Sirius' innocent? Or should we attempt to prove his innocence between now and the Third Task?"

"It wouldn't hurt to attempt to prove his innocence before the Third Task," Hermione said, "If all else fails, we'll use Pettigrew as the proof. Proving his innocence beforehand and getting him his freedom would be beneficial for one reason specifically… Dumbledore."

Harry immediately knew what she was referring to. "Dumbledore will try to harm us by harming Sirius. He would use his position as Chief Warlock to convince the other members of the Wizengamot to prevent Sirius from obtaining his freedom. But that might happen either way wouldn't it?"

"Dumbledore doesn't want you to see him as an enemy before Voldemort is defeated," Hermione said. "We'll have a better chance of Sirius obtaining his freedom before Dumbledore decides we're the bad guys."

Harry nodded. That was a good point. "Suppose we'll have to try our best to get him free before we defeat Voldemort then."

Over the next several minutes, Harry and Hermione discussed more of their plans, making sure they had everything perfectly prepared. When they were satisfied that there was nothing left to discuss, Harry cast another Tempus. It was a quarter-to-seven. By the time they arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast, it would be around seven-o-clock.

"Hopefully Professor McGonagall will be in the Great Hall when we arrive," Hermione said, as she and Harry left the Room of Requirement – thankfully the corridor outside the Room was empty, "We can give her a message, and maybe we can have that meeting before we have to get to class."

Harry agreed with his girlfriend/wife – that was rather confusing, he realized; they would have to discuss exactly what they were to each other at the moment.

It was roughly seven when they stepped into the Great Hall. There weren't very many students present yet, however, several Professors were present at the Head Table, including McGonagall, and thankfully not Dumbledore nor Snape. Instead of heading for the Gryffindor table, Harry and Hermione walked up to the Head Table and over to McGonagall. The Deputy Headmistress looked up from her breakfast with raised eyebrows and looked at the pair.

"Good morning, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter," she said, "What can I do for you?"

"We would like to speak to you in private before class begins, Professor," Hermione said, "The subject of our conversation isn't an emergency, but it is important."

McGonagall stared at Hermione, then looked at Harry, then looked back at Hermione.

"Very well," McGonagall said, "If you can wait for thirty minutes – I suggest you take that time to eat breakfast – I will escort the two of you to my office, and we can discuss whatever is on your mind."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said.

Harry thanked her as well, and McGonagall excused them. They headed toward the Gryffindor Table and sat down, then prepared plates of food. As Harry began to eat, he looked around the Hall. He had been in the Great Hall a few times after the Battle of Hogwarts, before and after he and Hermione had gone to Australia. After the Battle of Hogwarts, the Great Hall never looked as magnificent as it had before that fateful Battle between the forces of good and Dark. Now, sitting here in the Great Hall that had yet to see any kind of battle, it was still as magnificent as Harry once remembered it. It nearly brought a tear to his eye to see it in its splendor once again.

"Harry," Hermione whispered; her voice was slightly hoarse, and she was looking toward the entrance of the Great Hall, "Look…"

Harry turned toward the large doors, and he saw what was making Hermione so emotional. Walking toward the Gryffindor table, with a grin matching his twin brother, was Fred Weasley.

 _You're going to be able to live a long and wonderful life this time, Fred,_ Harry vowed silently. _Maybe you'll be able to find a nice girl like your brother did. And, speak of the devil, there they are… hand-in-hand, together already. Wow, didn't realize their relationship started this early._

George Weasley and Angelina Johnson – whom, in Harry and Hermione's future, had married on George's birthday in 1999, and were expecting a child by the time Harry and Hermione had used the ritual to return back in time - were holding hands as they walked toward the Gryffindor table, with Fred, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, Harry's Quidditch teammates. One of them had obviously seen Harry and Hermione, because the group was heading in their direction.

"Harry! Hermione!" Fred said, with a familiar grin that made Harry's heart swell, "You're up early. You're usually not here for another half-hour or so."

"Have to speak with Professor McGonagall about something regarding the Second Task," Harry said, trying to keep his emotions calm, as he spoke to someone he thought he would never have the chance to do again.

"Second Task is tomorrow, Harry," Katie Bell said, "Though I am sure you don't need to be reminded of that. Kind of cutting it close, aren't you?"

"Hopefully not," Harry said, "We'll see what happens."

"Are you ready for the Task tomorrow, Harry?" Angelina asked.

"I am," Harry said, confidently, "I know what I'm going to be doing."

"Well, good luck," Angelina said, "No matter what happens, there will definitely be a party afterward in the Common Room."

"Angelina," George moaned, "You weren't supposed to tell him that. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"It is alright," Harry said, "I was already expecting some kind of party, especially if I get first place in the Task."

"Just don't get last place," Fred said, in an obvious joking manner, "We don't want to throw you a pity party!"

Harry laughed, along with Hermione and the others. He was quite happy to be able to experience Fred's sense of humor once again.

Conversation between the group of Quidditch teammates and Hermione continued until Professor McGonagall came over to them and requested Harry and Hermione to follow her. Thankfully neither Ron nor Ginny had showed up for breakfast yet, and Dumbledore and Snape hadn't arrived either, so there was nobody there who would be too suspicious about why Harry and Hermione were meeting with McGonagall.

Since McGonagall's office was on the first floor, it didn't take very long for the Professor or her students to arrive at their destination. Harry and Hermione had both been in this office, more than once, including during fifth year when they had a Career Advice meeting with McGonagall – Dolores Umbridge had butted in on both meetings, and the way McGonagall had defended both of her Lions had been quite memorable.

McGonagall conjured two chairs on the closest side of the desk for Harry and Hermione, and the two students sat down as the Deputy Headmistress took her own seat.

"Alright, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, "What is this about?"

"I'm just going to be blunt and come out and say it," Harry said. "I don't know whether you know about this yet or nor, but Professor Dumbledore and the other members of the Tournament committee are intending on using Hermione as Viktor Krum's hostage tomorrow in the Second Task."

Professor McGonagall frowned and nodded. "I only found out about this a few days ago. I raised quite a fuss with the Headmaster, when I found out human hostages – _innocent_ human hostages who had not volunteered or signed up for anything – would be used, but the Headmaster assured me everyone, hostages and champions, would be perfectly safe."

"Well, I know I will be safe, Professor," Hermione said, "Because the reason Harry and I are meeting with you is to tell you I refuse to be a hostage for tomorrow's task. The Headmaster and Karkaroff will have to find someone else to use for Viktor's hostage."

McGonagall sighed. "I am not surprised, Miss Granger. I don't know how the Headmaster, nor the committee, will take this, however, especially since the task takes place tomorrow. They might not be able to find someone else to replace you."

"Well, they will have to, Professor," Hermione said. "I assume that the hostages will be asked sometime this evening after dinner to go to the Headmaster's office. Well, I can tell you now, that they won't be able to find me."

"I sincerely doubt there is anywhere in this castle that Albus Dumbledore would not be able to find you, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, then she narrowed her eyes, suspiciously, "You're not planning on leaving the castle sometime today, just to avoid being a hostage, are you?"

"Oh, no, ma'am," Hermione said, "I will most certainly be in the castle. I'll just be somewhere the Headmaster won't be able to find me. I understand this may be an issue with you, so let me give you this assurance. Tomorrow, after the Second Task is done, I will meet with you, and tell you how I accomplished what I did to hide from Dumbledore, the Committee, yourself and the other Professors, so that others cannot use said option in the future to do the same thing."

Harry was rather surprised about this proviso of Hermione's, but he decided that there was probably no other way to appease the Deputy Headmistress.

McGonagall's lips flattened, and she crossed her arms over her bosom. She did not speak for a full minute. She just studied Hermione, whilst also appearing to be deep in thought.

"Very well, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "I will allow this to take place, if only because I do not want to see you forced to be a hostage tomorrow during the task, especially if you do not want to be. There is something I wish to know, however, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked.

"I assume you know that Mr. Ronald Weasley will be your hostage?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said.

"Then why is he not here to object to his part in the Task too?" McGonagall asked.

"I sincerely doubt he is going to object to being part of the Task," Harry said, "He's the kind of boy who likes to be in the spotlight. You can probably ask him yourself when you collect him to take him to the Headmaster's office this evening. Ask him if he objects to being a part of the task. I doubt he will."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, and merely nodded. "And you? You do not object to Mr. Weasley being your hostage?"

"I am confident I can rescue him, Professor," Harry said, "The reason I am here with Hermione, and not Ron, is because I do not trust Viktor Krum, nor do I trust the Headmaster nor the committee to keep Hermione safe. If she was in the lake tomorrow, I would probably choose to rescue her instead of Ron, which would probably create a huge fuss with the committee, since she is not my chosen hostage. Which I would find kind of odd, you know? I mean… Hermione was the only one who truly supported me after the Choosing Ceremony. She was the only one to come and tell me that she believed I did not put my name in the Goblet. Meanwhile, until the First Task was over, Ron neither supported me, nor believed that I didn't put my name in the Goblet. So I ask you, Professor. Why would I consider Ron, who betrayed me in November, to be the one I miss the most instead of Hermione? Why wasn't she chosen instead of him?"

"I don't know the answer to that question, but I am most curious now that you mention it," McGonagall said. "Would you mind if I brought that question up with the Headmaster?"

"No, but don't be surprised if you tell me his answer, and I don't happen to believe it," Harry said, bluntly.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow again. "And why not, Mr. Potter?"

"Because I believe the Headmaster chose Ron over Hermione as the one I'd miss the most due to emotional manipulation," Harry said, "The Headmaster believes in forgiveness, and forgiving everyone for their sins. He wants me to forgive Ron for betraying me. I don't know if I forgive Ron for his actions, but I certainly won't forget it. I wonder what the Headmaster would say if I asked him if he wanted me to forgive Voldemort for murdering my parents, and attempting to do the same to me?"

Of course he wasn't going to forgive Ron for any of his past – or future – transgressions, and he certainly wasn't going to forget it. But he couldn't tell the Professor that.

McGonagall winced a little at Voldemort's name, then she frowned. "I'm rather curious as to his answer to that very question myself. He is a rather firm believer in forgiveness and second chances. However, I will not ask that question too. I will leave it to you to ask when you feel it best."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, I appreciate it."

"If there are no more questions or concerns, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, "I believe our meeting is over. I look forward to seeing whether any of the staff, Tournament committee or the Headmaster can find you tonight, Miss Granger. And if not, then I also look forward to the explanation of how you achieved it."

"As do I, Professor," Hermione said.

McGonagall allowed a small smile. "You are both excused."

Harry and Hermione thanked the Professor, stood up and left the classroom.

"Well, that went a lot better than I expected," Harry said, "However, I was rather surprised about that proviso you offered her."

"Yes, but I only offered it to her," Hermione said. "I think we may be able to trust her with some of our secrets and assistance. If we can wean her off of her trust for Dumbledore, she can be a great ally to us, Harry."

"Yes, I got that impression too," Harry said. "Alright, let's add that to our plans – ingrain Professor McGonagall into being one of our allies."

"Yes," Hermione said, "Because I realized something while we were in there. Harry, she is so close to Dumbledore and knows a lot more about him then we do."

"You think she might be able to give some insight in, into what Dumbledore's horcrux is, don't you?" Harry asked.

"I do, Harry," Hermione said, "I really, truly believe she might be our way into finding his Horcrux."

"Better than any other idea we have had so far," Harry said. "Very well then. What's our first class?"

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first with impostor Moody," Hermione.

"Right, Barty Crouch, Junior," Harry said, sighing, "I know we can't do anything to him right now, but it feels very wrong to keep him here with all these innocent students. I also hope the real Moody forgives us for knowingly keeping him imprisoned until after the Third Task."

"It is necessary, Harry," Hermione said, "Outing Crouch, Junior would be a big change to the timeline right now. Voldemort might change his strategy, which means he won't be in the graveyard the night of the Third Task."

"And then everything will become unpredictable with Voldemort," Harry said, "I know. Just feels like we're imitating Dumbledore here. Doing all this for some greater good in the defeat against Voldemort."

"Well, think of it this way," Hermione said, "Soon we'll be away from Hogwarts, our Doppelgangers will be here, and we'll have a lot more to worry about than allowing Crouch, Junior to remain free and Moody imprisoned."

"I suppose that is some sort of silver lining," Harry said, grinning.

Hermione chuckle and squeezed Harry's hand. They made their way toward the Defense Classroom. When they arrived, they found there were the first there. Not even the imposter Crouch was there yet. There were alone for ten minutes, before their classmates began trickling into the classroom. And another ten minutes, before the last of the students – Ron included, making his way into the classroom with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan – arrived. Ron almost immediately saw Harry and Hermione, and hurriedly walked over to them, and sat beside Harry.

"Where have you been, Harry?" Ron demanded, "I've been looking for you all morning!"

"I woke up pretty early and Hermione was already up, so we had an early breakfast," Harry said.

"Well, why didn't you wake me up too?" Ron asked.

"I woke up around six-o-clock, Ron," Harry said, "Would you have woken up if I asked, or would you have told me to 'piss off' before you'd go back to sleep?"

Ron frowned. "I probably would have gone back to sleep. Why did you wake up so early anyway?"

"Nightmare about failing the Second Task tomorrow," Harry lied.

"I am sure you'll do just fine tomorrow, Harry," Hermione said; she hesitated a moment, obviously wary of speaking directly to Ron, before saying "Won't he, Ronald?"

"You'll do brilliant, mate!" Ron said, "I'm sure of it!"

Harry forced a smile. Unfortunately, in order for his and Hermione's Doppelgangers to perform believably well, without giving up what they actually were, they had to put up with Ron and Ginny for as long as they were still at Hogwarts. After all, the Doppelgangers would be acting as if there was nothing wrong with their relationship with Ron. There was also the fact that they had decided to wait to directly go after Ron, Ginny and Molly Weasley for their transgressions against them, until the days and weeks after the Third Task. So neither Harry nor Hermione could show their utter hatred for Ron, Ginny and Molly at the moment.

 _As much as I would rather see you drown at the bottom of the lake tomorrow,_ Harry thought, as he side-eyed Ron, _I need to rescue you, Weasley, in order to complete the Second Task. At least I'll be doing it rather quickly so I don't have to focus on you any longer than I have to._

Thankfully, before any further conversation with Ron could be continued, the impostor Moody stalked into the classroom and begun class. At least Barty Crouch, Junior was good for something!

* * *

 **That Evening, an hour after dinner…**

Minerva McGonagall made her way toward the Gryffindor Tower, with the hopes of finding Ron Weasley and – though she highly doubted she was going to find her this evening – Hermione Granger. She had already searched the library among other locations in the castle, and had yet to find neither of the Gryffindors, nor the third member of their little trio, Harry Potter. She had a feeling Ron Weasley might be in the Gryffindor Tower, but she had doubts Hermione Granger would be… and something told her she might not find Harry Potter either. Wherever Miss Granger was, Mr. Potter was likely with her, to make sure that his best friend was not a part of the Second Task.

Or were they more than just best friends? This was something Minerva had wondered all day since the early morning meeting with the two Gryffindors. She was rather surprised when Miss Granger wasn't on the arm of Mr. Potter during the Yule Ball. When that didn't happen, she thought they might share one dance together, but that didn't happen either. To Minerva, it was obvious the two friends fancied one another. Maybe their relationship hadn't evolved until very recently?

Then there was the friendship between Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Something big had changed recently, and Minerva wasn't sure when it started. Mr. Potter's views toward Mr. Weasley were rather surprising, Minerva thought. Yes, it was true that the two had had a major fight in November, but she had thought they had patched things up after the First Task was finished. Now, after Mr. Potter's comments about Mr. Weasley earlier that day, she wasn't so sure their friendship was anything but rocky, and maybe even close to being over.

Minerva soon found herself in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. When the Fat Lady saw her, she bowed and swung her portrait open without needing a password. Minerva's role as Head of Gryffindor House made the need for passwords to Gryffindor Tower unnecessary, though she did not flaunt this fact in front of students. She made her way through the portrait hole, and into the Common Room. Almost immediately, the students – who were boisterous, laughing and talking before she entered – went silent as they noted her entry.

"May I see Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger please?" Minerva asked.

Ron Weasley stood up from the table where he had been playing a chess game against Dean Thomas, and walked over to Minerva.

"Hermione's not here, Professor," Ron said, "Neither is Harry. I don't know where they are. Maybe the library. Harry said something about needing to look up something for the Second Task. If he went to the library, then Hermione likely followed him there."

"I've already checked the library, Mr. Weasley," Minerva said, "Neither Miss Granger nor Mr. Potter were there."

"Then I don't know where they are," Ron said.

"Does anyone know where Hermione Granger or Harry Potter are at this moment in time?" Minerva asked, loudly to the Common Room.

The students either shook their heads, or gave responses of "No," "No Professor," or "No, ma'am."

"If you see either of them, please inform a Prefect and have them inform me immediately," Minerva said, "Even if it after curfew."

Nods and murmurs of acknowledgement were seen and heard around the Common Room.

"Follow me, Mr. Weasley," Minerva said.

She turned and made her way out through the portrait hole, followed by Ron.

"What's going on, Professor?" Ron asked.

"All will be explained when we reach the Headmaster's Office," Minerva said. "But the short explanation is, is that you will be taking part in the Second Task tomorrow."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley," Minerva said, "Please tell me right now, before we go any further down this corridor, if you do not want to participate tomorrow."

"Oh, no, Professor," Ron said, "I would be happy to be a part of the Task. Is it a big part?"

Minerva frowned, unseen by Mr. Weasley. It seemed Mr. Potter was correct. The boy seemed quite thrilled to have a part to play in the Second Task.

 _Spotlight indeed,_ she thought.

"I do not know, Mr. Weasley," Minerva said, "As I said, I am sure all will be explained in the Headmaster's office. Come along, now."

As she made her way through the castle toward the Headmaster's office with Ron Weasley, Minerva steeled herself for what was about to happen. She knew neither Albus Dumbledore nor Igor Karkaroff would be happy that she could not find Miss Granger, who was supposed to be Viktor Krum's hostage for the Second Task the following day. Obviously they would raise a fuss. Dumbledore would likely try to use the assistance of his portraits to attempt to find Miss Granger. But something told Minerva that even Dumbledore's spy – ahem – security system wouldn't even be able to find the girl.

 _Miss Granger, I am very much looking forward to your explanation tomorrow about where you are right now,_ Minerva thought to herself.

Nearly fifteen minutes after leaving Gryffindor Tower, Minerva and Ron arrived at the gargoyle statue which guarded Dumbledore's office.

"Candy Hearts," Minerva stated to the gargoyle; the password hadn't changed since the week of Valentine's Day.

The gargoyle's large stone head nodded, and jumped out of the way. Minerva led her student up the stairs toward the Headmaster's Office. As soon as Minerva reached the door at the top of the stairs, it opened on its own. Unsurprised at this, as it usually happened, Minerva led Ron into the room. Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his majestic desk, and he wasn't alone. Far from it. The room was rather crowded. Her fellow staff members, Professors Snape, Flitwick, Sprout and Moody were in attendance, as were a few others: Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley - once again replacing Bartemius Crouch in the role as a Tournament Committee member, along with Durmstrang Headmaster Igor Karkaroff and Beauxbatons Headmistress Madame Maxime. Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory's girlfriend stood between Flitwick and Sprout, and standing near Madame Maxime, was a young blonde girl who resembled Fleur Delacour so much, that Minerva suspected the girl was the younger sister of the Beauxbatons Champion.

"Ah, Minerva, there you are!" Albus said, cheerily, "And Mr. Ronald Weasley, welcome."

Ron muttered greetings, before he walked over to his brother, Percy.

Dumbledore frowned at Minerva. "Ah, Minerva, it seems one of your students is missing who should be with you. Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

"Unfortunately I could not locate her, Albus," Minerva said.

"Did you check the library?" Albus asked, "It is her favorite place to hang out in her casual time, I do believe. I think she might hang out there more than Madame Pince!"

"It was the first place I checked," Minerva said. "I checked other places too, including a few bathrooms before going to the Gryffindor Common Room. I asked the Gryffindor students and none of them had seen Miss Granger nor Mr. Potter since dinner."

"They're teenagers, aren't they?" Moody asked, gruffly, "Did you check the broom closets, Minerva? Maybe the chose one of those to go in and snog or shag or whatever the kids are calling it these days."

"They wouldn't do that!" Ron complained.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. It appeared Mr. Weasley was quite oblivious to the budding romantic relationship between his two friends.

"I am sure that isn't what they're doing, young Mr. Weasley," Albus said, smiling at the boy; he stood up. "No matter. I am sure our trusted Hogwarts security system can find our wayward students." He cleared his throat and looked around at the portraits. "My esteemed former Headmasters and Headmistresses, as you heard, we have a couple of missing students which need to be located. Please use your talents in speaking to the many portraits around the castle, and ask them if they have seen Hermione Granger or Harry Potter."

The portrait inhabitants exited stage left or right, making their canvasses appear blank.

"Albus, I have a feeling you may not be able to find Miss Granger," Minerva said, "And even if you do, it may be all for naught."

Albus frowned. "Elaborate please, Minerva. I am afraid I do not understand."

"You see, I spoke to Miss Granger this morning," Minerva said. "She told me two interesting things. The first was that neither you, the Tournament committee, our staff, or I would be able to find her this evening, nor will you find her tomorrow until after the Task is over. She promised me she would remain in the castle, however. But she was quite confident she would not be found this evening. The second, and this is the most important: she was _very_ adamant that even if you did find her this evening, she would refuse to volunteer to take part in the Second Task."

Snape snorted. "It would appear Miss Granger has caught Potter's knack for rule-breaking, especially if she will be completely breaking curfew this evening, so as not to be located. And I am sure that comes as such a surprise to many of you here… what with Miss Granger being a Professor's Pet and all…"

" _Thank you,_ Severus," Albus firmly shut the Potions Master down, "Minerva, as entertaining as Miss Granger's apparent statements are, I am sure she will be located most swiftly by our friends, the portraits. Ah, I believe our friends are returning!"

One-by-one and two-by-two, the portraits' inhabitants returned to the room.

"Has Hermione Granger or Harry Potter been located?" Albus asked the portraits.

"I am afraid not, Albus," Dexter Fortescue said, "The only clue we received was from the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, who reports seeing a pair of students, with the same description as the two missing students, walking by his portrait earlier this evening. That was all he said before he went back to attempting to train those trolls of his to dance."

"That doesn't help, Albus," Minerva said, "Every Gryffindor walks by that portrait. It is in the corridor between Gryffindor Tower and the Grand Staircase."

"Headmaster Dumbledore, may I speak?" Ludo Bagman asked.

"Of course, Ludo," Albus said.

"Albus, even if we were to locate this girl," Ludo said, "I wouldn't feel comfortable forcing her to be in the Task. It seems she has verbally stated she refuses to volunteer for the Task. Therefore, I believe we must find a replacement for Champion Krum instead. If the public got word that we forced someone to participate, when they originally refused to do so… well, you can imagine Rita would have a field day with that!"

"She would, indeed," Albus murmured.

"Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this?!" Igor Karkaroff growled. "You promised me the girl would be Viktor's hostage!"

Albus sighed. "I had not foreseen these issues, Igor. But it seems I must agree with Mr. Bagman. If Miss Granger has verbally opposed volunteering for a part in the Task, we must abide by her wishes. Therefore, a replacement hostage for Champion Krum must be chosen."

"Surely there must be someone, Headmaster Karkaroff," Minerva said. "I would think someone as popular as Champion Krum must have friends, including some of those on the Durmstrang delegation."

Igor glared at Minerva, then frowned. "I suppose there might be one or two candidates."

"Then why did you not chose them, instead of one of _my_ students?" Minerva asked. "For Merlin's sake, Champion Krum only met Miss Granger a few months ago! How can she be someone he would miss the most anyway?!"

Karkaroff's glare at Minerva grew harsher.

"Calm yourself, Minerva," Albus said, "Miss Granger was originally chosen because she was Champion Krum's date to the Yule Ball. Igor told me that there was nobody amongst those who came with him who would qualify, so we had to choose Miss Granger, simply because she was Champion Krum's date."

"And now it seems that when he is forced to find a replacement, he suddenly has a candidate or two?" Minerva asked, doubtfully.

Albus sighed. Instead of choosing to answer, he turned to Karkaroff. "Igor, please find a suitable candidate from your delegation and bring them here. As quick as you can, if you will please. I had assumed we would be finished already, and it seems we are going to be rather delayed."

With another glare at Minerva, Karkaroff headed toward the door and left the office, grumbling to himself.

"You're quite sure Miss Granger and Mr. Potter didn't leave the castle this evening, Minerva?" Albus asked.

"Miss Granger promised me, Albus," Minerva said. "I believe she can be trusted to keep her word."

Snape snorted again, then wilted slightly at Minerva's glare.

"Where could they be?" Albus sighed, tapping his fingers on his desk.

"Maybe they are somewhere… _Secret_?" Snape suggested. "Potter knows where it is after all, and aside from you, very few have the ability to enter the place."

"I closed off all possible entry points to that location the summer after it was discovered, Severus," Albus said, "They are most certainly not there, I assure you. The enchantments are very powerful."

Minerva realized they were talking about the Chamber of Secrets. She couldn't see Miss Granger spending a whole night in such a place. But where could she be? Or likely where could _they_ be? Because wherever Miss Granger was, Minerva was sure Mr. Potter was with her.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in the Room of Requirement…**

"Of course Snape thinks we're hiding out in the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said, with a snort, "It is just like him."

Harry and Hermione were currently relaxing on a bed in the Room of Requirement. Harry had requested a bedroom, complete with a Potions Laboratory, so Hermione could work on the Doppelganger Potion, and also a bathroom. In front of them was a large portrait that was currently showing what was going on in the Headmaster's Office. Harry had simply requested the room for a means to watch what was happening inside Dumbledore's office, and it came up with a portrait that acted like a television screen, which had the live goings-on in Dumbledore's office currently playing.

"I wonder what happened to those enchantments on the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets Dumbledore says he placed," Hermione said, "Ron and I were able to get in there during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Maybe the magic diminished over time," Harry suggested.

"Maybe," Hermione said, nodding.

"Or maybe," Harry said, "There are no protections, no enchantments… and Dumbledore is lying to save face, so McGonagall doesn't react harshly to the fact that a dangerous place is still accessible."

"Perhaps," Hermione said, "He does have a history of lying through his teeth. Harry? I'm worried."

"About what?" Harry asked.

"Fake Moody's statement about the possibility of us snogging or shagging," Hermione said, "And Ron's reaction to it. What if…"

"What if Ron goes paranoid a year and a half early about the possibility of our relationship, and he tells his mother about it?" Harry finished.

"Or he could just tell Ginny about what Fake Moody said," Hermione said, "And she could tell her mother."

A thought suddenly crossed Harry's mind. "I have an idea. Obviously, Ron is going to confront me about what Moody said, right. If he's paranoid about it, he's going to want to know how I feel about you. So how about I tell him that we're all little too worried about the Tournament to focus on something like the dating scene, and that we should wait for that conversation until after the Tournament is over."

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said, "He might take advantage of such a thing and try to ask out my Doppelganger before you can. Remember, his biggest desire is to have something Harry Potter desires."

"It's a possibility," Harry said, "But I think he's too cowardly at the moment to ask you out. If he thinks I'm going to wait, I'm sure he'll wait, so he can plan it all out, in order to impress you. Then, by the time the Tournament is over, we won't be having use our Doppelgangers, so we can go all out when it comes to dealing with Ron, Ginny and Molly."

"I hope you're right, Harry," Hermione said. "I just wish Junior hadn't made that comment, especially in front of Ron. It would have saved me a lot of worrying. I need a distraction, Harry. Distract me. Tell me again what you're going to do for the Second Task."

"I'm going to use Gillyweed again, just so Junior will believe I'm playing along with his suggestions," Harry said, "But I am also going to use those spells you found during our initial planning before we came back. They'll make me swim faster. I should be able to find the mermaid village faster this time, since I won't be fumbling around trying to find it. With any luck, I'll be back with Ron well within an hour."

"Are you sure you can do those charms non-verbally, Harry?" Hermione asked, "Because you won't be able to do verbal spells under water."

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said, "I'm sure. But if it makes you feel better I'll practice some non-verbal spells and charms tonight, just to make sure I'm still capable of it."

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said; she removed her wand from behind her ear and cast "Tempus". "Time to add the next couple of ingredients into the Potion. Call for me if anything interesting happens on the 'telly'."

Harry nodded, and Hermione kissed his cheek, then stood and made her way to the Potions lab area of the room. Meanwhile. Harry resumed watching the 'telly', also known as the portrait. Igor Karkaroff had yet to return to the Headmaster's Office with his replacement hostage, so Dumbledore was entertaining his guests with stories.

 _Always have to be the center of attention, don't you, Al?"_ Harry mused.

He grinned when he noticed McGonagall looking rather annoyed at the Headmaster.

 _Looks like she's thinking along the same line of thought,_ Harry mused, _Maybe we won't need to use too much persuasion when it comes to turning her away from Dumbledore. We'll have to use a little, but it might be easier than we had originally thought._

Ten minutes later, Igor Karkaroff had yet to return to the Headmaster's Office, but another event happened, that would soon take Harry's full and undivided attention. Hermione walked back over to the bed, only she was wearing something completely different to the school outfit she had on earlier. She was in a black lace lingerie bra and panties – that were a touch see-through. Harry suspected she had requested the outfit from the Room of Requirement, because why else would she have it? It was definitely not something fourteen/fifteen year old Hermione Granger would have packed, or even bought – if she could find it – in Hogsmeade.

"Harry, I want you to make love to me tonight," Hermione said, her voice husky, as she crawled onto the bed. "I want you to claim my virginity. Again."

Fourteen year old Harry Potter definitely would have stuttered and stammered incoherently until an embarrassed fifteen year old Hermione Granger retracted her request. But in Harry's current mind, when he thought Hermione would want to wait for this moment, until they left Hogwarts to start their Horcrux Hunt, could only think of one thing to say.

"Oh, hell, yes!" Harry exclaimed.

In the portrait viewing Dumbledore's office, Igor Karkaroff returned with his replacement hostage, but Harry paid no mind to this, as he waved his wand, vanishing the portrait.

He had more interesting tasks in mind, instead of spying on the Dark Lord Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

 **I might write the actual sex scene when I get to publishing the story. We'll see.**

 **Anyway, there is a preview of my next story. But for now, I am hoping to fix my computer issues and get back to writing and updating Yule Ball Drama, as I know many of you want.**


	12. Untitled Marriage Law Story

**Title: Untitled Marriage Law Story**

 **Summary: My version of the Marriage Law fic. When Tonks overhears Minister Fudge and Lucius Malfoy discussing a Marriage Law Bill for the Wizengamot, she takes the information to the Order of the Phoenix. But a discussion after the Order meeting rubs her the wrong way and she hatches a plan with Remus and Sirius. The plan: get Harry Potter and Hermione Granger married as soon as possible.**

 **There's just one little problem... Harry is also Betrothed to two other girls!**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings: Canon-Divergence – Order of the Phoenix, Harem, Marriage Law, Underage Sex, Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys, some Order members, and others; other warnings labeled individually in chapters.**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione/Daphne/Susan/Tracey, Neville/Luna/Hannah, Remus/Tonks, Sirius/Amelia, Fred/Alicia Spinnet, George/Angelina Johnson; Other Various pairings**

 **Disclaimer:** J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.

 **Author's Note: Still having the same battery issues with my computer, so to show my fans I am still alive, I bring you another "First". I was going to put this in "Fable of Firsts" a lot sooner, but thought I had misplaced it. I wrote this a while back... probably around the time I started writing Free Use Experience.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:  
A Simple Plan**

 **Friday, July 9** **th** **, 1995 – Early Afternoon**

Rookie Auror Nymphadora Tonks was on guard duty near the office of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fiudge. Every Rookie had this assignment two times a week. The rest of the week, they were working with other Aurors on various field duties.

When a Rookie was started their session of guard duty for the Minister of Magic, they were required to have charms placed on them that stopped them from eavesdropping or overhearing discussions that Minister Fudge and other high-level Ministry workers were participating in. The charm was directly placed on the ears of the Auror. However, Tonks – owing to being a Metamorphmagus – had used her ability to plug up her ears, blocking the charms from taking effect. If she was careful, and didn't react to any discussion she heard, neither Minister Fudge or anyone else would be any the wiser for this. Her reason for decieving Fudge and the others? Albus Dumbledore had asked her to eavesdrop and spy on Fudge and his people for the Order of the Phoenix.

Tonks had only joined the Order a week ago, having been recruited by Alastor Moody, her mentor at Brighton Auror Academy. She had been invited to a very memorable Order meeting at the Black family home at #12 Grimmauld Place. She had, at first, been rather confused as to why the home her late Great Uncle Orion, and Great Aunt Walburga was being used as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Then, to her shock, she discovered the fugitive – and her cousin – Sirius Black was living in his home again. Until that night a week ago, she had no idea Sirius Black was innocent of the charges he had been accused of.

That wasn't the only shocking revelation she had learned. She – and the other Order members – had all been told the story of the night Voldemort returned to his full strength and power, and how Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, had been a witness to the rebirth of the Dark Lord, and had barely escaped the event with his life.

The Order of the Phoenix, Tonks learned, was a secret vigilante group that fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the last war, and would do the same this time.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Tonks looked up to see Lucius Malfoy, Tonks' uncle-through-marriage – though the man would never admit she was his niece, as she had a Muggleborn father – make his way over to Fudge's secretary. He was carrying a briefcase, and Tonks had to muffle a snort. For such a pureblood snob, he reminded her of her father, who never went to work without his own briefcase. Uncle Lucius seemed very Muggle-ish today.

"I have a meeting with the Minister, Deliliah," Lucius said to the secretary, with a brisk, cool voice, "He is expecting me."

"I believe he is currently meeting with Dolores Umbridge at this moment in time, Lord Malfoy," Delilah said.

"I am sure the Senior Undersecretary would also be interested in what I have to say, as would the Minister," Lucius said. "Please tell him I am here."

Delilah hesitated for a moment, before she stood up and walked over to the door. As the door opened, Tonks could barely hear the exchange between Delilah and the Minister.

"Lord Lucius Malfoy is here to see you, Minister," Delilah said, "Should I ask him to wait?"

"No, no, he is welcome to come in," Fudge said. "Which Auror is on guard duty?"

"Rookie Auror Tonks," Delilah said.

"Have her escort Lord Malfoy in," Fudge said.

Delilah turned to Tonks, then nodded Lucius' direction. Tonks nodded.

"The Auror needs to check your briefcase, my Lord," Delilah said, turning back to Lucius.

"There is only parchment in my briefcase, I assure you," Lucius said.

"It still must be done," Delilah said.

Lucius' lips thinned, and he walked over to Tonks. He opened his briefcase and showed it to Tonks. She waved her wand over the contents, making sure there were no dangerous hexes or other spells on anything. When she was satisfied, she nodded at Lucius.

"You're clear," Tonks said. " Allow me to escort you inside, Lord Malfoy."

Lucius eyed her with narrowed brows, and nodded once. She turned and stepped into the office, then moved to the side of the door. Cornelius Fudge was standing behind his desk, and on the closest side of the desk, Fudge's Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge – Tonks thought she resembled a toad in a pink sweater – was standing beside her own chair. Lucius stepped into the room, and Tonks shut the door behind him. Lucius glanced at her, suspiciously.

"Well, why are you still in here, girl?" Lucius asked.

"New DMLE policy, Lord Malfoy," Fudge said, "Made by Director Amelia Bones. If I have a guest in my office whom is not a part of my staff, I must have an Auror present. Rookie Auror Tonks is on guard today. However, have no fear. She has anti-eavesdropping charms placed on her so she cannot listen to what we are saying. The charms will drop, however, if things get heated in here, and she has to take appropriate action."

"I see," Lucius muttered. "When did this happen?"

"Three days ago," Fudge said. "I meant to inform you, but I've been rather busy as of late. Come... sit, so you can begin with the reason you are here this afternoon!"

Casting one last suspicious glare at Tonks, Lucius walked over to the empty chair next to Dolores Umbridge, and sat down.

"What can I do for you, Lord Malfoy?" Fudge asked.

"Please, Minister, you know you can call me Lucius," Lucius said.

"Then of course, call me Cornelius," Fudge smiled.

"I have come here today to discuss with you a Bill I am putting forth to the Wizengamot council next Saturday," Lucius said, "I thought you would be most interested in it."

"I am always interested in anything you bring to me, Lucius," Fudge said, chortling, "You know that."

"A week before Christmas last year, the eldest daughter of one of my closest friends and allies birthed a daughter," Lucius said. "Two months ago, it was discovered the girl is a Squib."

"Oh, the poor dear," Fudge said, sighing, "Alway such a tragedy when that happens."

"Indeed," Lucius said, "A week after this was discovered, I decided to do some research on Squibs, and the birthrate of Squibs when it comes to purebloods, halfbloods, and Muggleborn. I have discovered a most shocking revelation: the majority of Squibs born over the past four decades, Minister, were born from two pureblood parents."

"The majority?" Umbridge asked, "Numbers, my dear Lucius, I am not hearing numbers here!"

"Ninety percent of Squibs in the past forty years were born from two pureblood parents," Lucius said.

"Merciful Merlin!" Fudge gasped, leaning back in his chair. "Are you sure?"

"Quite positive," Lucius said. "I double and triple-checked the numbers."

"And what is the birthrate of pureblood squibs over pureblood witches and wizards?" Umbridge asked.

"Five to one," Lucius said, eliciting in more gasps from Umbridge and Fudge. "A century ago it was ten to one."

"Merlin help us!" Fudge exclaimed. "What... what should we do?"

"Well, the answer to that is to why I have come here," Lucius said, opening his briefcase, and giving the top piece of parchment on the stack inside to Fudge. "Next Saturday, I am going to put forth a new Marriage Law bill. Half-blood and Muggleborn witches and wizards, who are unmarried or have no children with magical abilities, will be placed in a will then be paired with a pureblood witch or wizard, married within a week after the Bill is passed. Then they must be pregnant or have a child within the first eighteen months, and a second after five years. If they have squib, they will be forcefully divorced, and married to someone else, following through with the same pattern.

Cornelius raised an eyebrow as he read through the parchment. Then his eyebrows narrowed. "What is this about witches and wizards fourteen years and older?"

"Oh, yes, did I forget to mention the age-range," Lucius said, "This Bill affects all witches and wizards between the ages of fourteen and sixty."

Tonks' eyes widened. _School-aged students... underage students... had to be married and have a child within eighteen months? As young as fourteen and fifteen?! That means... they'd have to be pregnant during their schooling!_

"I trust the underage students won't be forced to marry older wizards and witches?" Cornelius asked.

"Of course not," Lucius said, "I knew that would never go well with the Light Alliance, and many of the Neutral as well. Those under seventeen will not be forced to marry anyone older than seventeen."

Tonks frowned. It was better but... this law was still disgusting!

"Hem-hem," Umbridge cleared her throat. "Lucius, something I do not understand here. This law of yours would decimate the pureblood population, and turn the majority of the next generation into half-bloods! Most purebloods will never go through with this! It is unheard of!"

"Ah, I thought I would hear that argument from you and others," Lucius said. "Which is why I added an addendum. Wizards who are proven to have a family history of not producing Squibs will have the choice to marry more than one witch. So a pureblood could marry more than one witch. Their first wife would be pureblood and would be the Lady of their House. And then their second and additional wives could be half-bloods or Muggleborns. This would ensure that there would be Purebloods still, though we do risk a number of Squibs when it comes to those Pureblood children."

"The same could be said for children of Half-blood and Mud... Muggleborn parentage!" Umbridge huffed.

"It could... but history tells us the numbers of Squibs of lesser parentage are greatly reducing," Lucius said. "It is my hope that with one parent being 'lesser' than the number of Squibs would be well-reduced."

"What about Betrothal Contracts?" Umbridge asked. "I believe your son is Betrothed to Lord Parkinson's daughter, is he not?"

"Existing and Active Betrothal Contracts made before the Bill is passed will still be legal," Lucius said. "The witches who are in these Betrothal Contracts will not have their names up for eligibility for the Marriage Law. Though of course, the Betrothed must be married immediately, and eligible wizards who have a family history of not producing Squibs will be given the option to marry multiple witches."

"I tell you what," Fudge said. "I'll allow this Bill to be put forth in the Wizengamot. And I will even allow you to be the first one called. But I will not show any verbal support of the Bill until after it has been accepted by the Wizengamot. I know this Bill will have some backlash from the community, and I don't want to be seen supporting it if the Council does not pass it!"

"I am fine with that, Minister," Lucius said.

"Right now, I am more concerned when it comes to those who are still Hogwarts students," Fudge said. "I assume their education will not be affected by this?"

"It will not," Lucius said. "When the Bill is passed, a meeting with the School Governors, Dumbledore and a few of the Hogwarts Professors will be held to discuss the future of Hogwarts and the Marriage Law. It is already assumed that pregnant – or students trying to become pregnant – will be having a different set of classes altogether. No pregnant witch will be in any class where harmful spells and Potions would be taught until their pregnancy is over. Obviously this will affect OWLS and NEWTS but that can be worked around by the Professors and School Governors."

"Well, that seems better than I had imagined," Fudge said.

Umbridge cleared her throat. "I am currently thinking of ideas when it comes to Hogwarts, Minister. If this Bill were to pass, I believe I could bring forth some... interesting ideas for the future of Hogwarts in the era of the Marriage Law."

"I will be glad to hear it, Dolores," Fudge said. "But only if the Bill passes. I don't want to hear any more about this until it passes. Lord Malfoy, I warn you now. If the media gets any word of this before the next Wizengamot meeting, I will not call on you or anyone who might parrot your Bill forward during the next council meeting. I don't need word getting out about this until the Law is passed. Is that understood?!"

"Yes, Minister," Lucius said, coolly. "I will keep it to myself and my most trusted Allies until the Wizengamot meeting. Neither my Allies, or I, will speak of it to anyone outside our small Circle until it is time to be voiced in the meeting."

"Good," Fudge said.

 _I, on the other hand, will be speaking about this at tonight's Order meeting!_ Tonks vowed.

"Is there anything you needed to speak with me about, Lord Malfoy?" Fudge asked.

"No, Minister," Lucius said.

"Then you may be excused," Fudge said,

Lucius returned the parchment into his briefcase then stood and headed for the door. Tonks opened the door, and Lucius ignored her as he walked out. Tonks bowed her head to the Minister, then stepped out of the office.

Lucius was already walking away, but Tonks ignored him as she moved back to her oriignal position. She was too preoccupied thinking of the Order of the Phoenix meeting, and bombshell she would be presenting them.

* * *

 **Friday, July 9** **th** **, 1995 – Evening**

"... and that is everything I was able to overhear," Tonks finished her report on the meeting between Lucius Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge, and Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "I, of course, do not know what other details Lucius may have when it comes to the Bill. And I was not privy to what Dolores Umbridge's ideas for Hogwarts would be."

By the end of her explanation, the emotions around the table from the members of the Order of the Phoenix were varied. Molly Weasley looked quite emotional and stricken. Several others looked quite shocked. Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape looked thoughtful, and Sirius Black looked murderous. Albus Dumbledore looked calm and serene, however.

"Thank you, Nymphadora," Dumbledore said; Tonks winced at his use of her first name; she hated that he refused to call her by her preferred surname! "You have only been with us for a week, and have already proven yourself a reliable and welcome member of the Order of the Phoenix, especially when it comes to your talents as a Metamorphmagus, and your career as an Auror. Without either, we may have not been forewarned about this new issue before it was too late to do anything about it."

"Albus," Remus said, "Because we were forewarned, what are the chances you can counter the Bill at the next Wizengamot councul meeting?"

Albus sighed. "I hope this warning will be enough to convince the various members of the Light and Neutral-Light Alliances to put down the Bill. But something tells me it might not be."

"Why not, Albus?" Emmeline Vance asked.

"Because I am afraid," Albus said, "even members of the Light and Neutral Alliances will be convinced that moves need to be taken, so that there is little risk of the possibility that a good percentage of the next generation of purebloods be Squibs. The Wizengamot is dominated by Purebloods by a good eighty percent after all. Even Light and Neutral purebloods will find this worrisome. They will flock to the first good solution and this immediate solution set forth by Lucius Malfoy will be – as Muggles say – music to their ears."

"But for teenagers – fourteen through seventeen years – to be forced to marry and become parents at such a young age?" Tonks asked. "The Light Alliance would never support this! Surely you could argue that more people would agree to the Bill if it only affects those who have finished their Hogwarts education!"

Albus sighed. "I very much doubt Lucius Malfoy would agree to editing his Bill. After all, I do not believe it is _his_ Bill to begin with. I believe he is simply a parrot, and the true creator of the Bill is Voldemort."

Many around the table gasped, though mostly it was because of the name.

"Why would that bastard be concerned with something like this, Albus?!" Sirius Black growled.

"I very much doubt he has little care about the next generation of witches and wizards," Albus said, "Especially since it is his priority to destroy Muggleborn as well as those half-bloods who will not bow to his every desire and whim. As a good percentage of those targeted would be affected by this Bill, I highly doubt he did it for the good of the wizarding world. No... I believe he did it to cause a distraction."

"Oh?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Albus said. "With this Bill being passed, the Ministry of Magic would be busy creating a new Department for the Marriage Law, and focusing on a good majority of the population getting married and becoming pregnant. The rest of the population would be concerned about being affected by the Marriage Law, whether it be those who qualify for the Bill or their loved ones and family members. They would ignore more serious concerns and issues, like what Voldemort and his Death Eaters would be doing in the future. Yes, the good majority of the magical population in Great Britain may not yet be aware of Voldemort's return – but the Marriage Law would distract them from noticing that future attacks on families and businesses are a pattern and something to truly be worried about. They – especially those who are parents of the affected teens – would be too worried about their children to worry about anything else."

"Damn," Sirius muttered. "That sounds quite convincing. Is this something you've just thought up now, or is this something you heard from our resident spy here?"

Severus Snape narrowed his eyes in Sirius' direction. "If you're accusing me, Black, of knowing anything about this damnable Marriage Law bill, and saying nothing about it to the Order members -"

"Maybe I am!" Sirius growled. "You're supposed to be in the Inner Circle of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. If this is _his_ idea, and Ol' Lucy is just the parrot, then why haven't you been privy to it!"

"The Dark Lord knows I am close to Dumbledore, Black," Severus said, "close enough for Dumbledore to try to get things from me without me knowing. He does not trust me with everything."

"I thought you were close to Lucius, Snape!" Sirius said, "Aren't you his son's godfather? He has not spoken to you about this over a family dinner?"

"If Voldemort ordered him to not speak of this Bill to me," Severus said, "Then I would not have heard of it."

"Then what good are you to this Order if you can't get information like this to us!" Sirius growled, standing up, and staring loathingly at Severus. "Huh? What good are you when you can't be privy to all of Voldemort's plans!" Eh?!"

"I'm more of a use than you are to this Order, Black!" Severus snarled.

"Severus, Sirius, enough," Dumbledore said, sighing. "Everyone here does their part for the Order. Sirius, I understand Severus cannot give us everything that Voldemort has planned. But he can give us enough, and therefore he is useful. Without him, we would have nothing when it comes to Voldemort and his plans. Anything he can give us is welcome, and it should be understood that he can't give us more than he is allowed to know. Severus, without Sirius, we wouldn't be allowed the privacy, secrecy and safety of this building as a Headquarters for the Order. Both of you have proven yourselves useful to the Order, and it is time for the animosities between you to stop! I believe I asked this of you already the night Voldemort returned to full power. Do not make me repeat myself again."

"Yes, sir," Severus said.

"Of course, Albus," Sirius said, though he was still glaring at Snape.

"Due to the seriousness of this new issue," Dumbledore said, "I am setting two more meetings over the next week to discuss this new Bill before it takes place. Many of you in this room would be affected by this Bill, including your children, and your children's friends. Therefore, we will be meeting again Sunday night, as well as Wednesday night. To those of you who have children and friends who would be affected by this Bill,I must ask none of you to speak openly about this Bill to them or anyone.

"If word gets out we know about the Bill before it is laid forth in the Wizengamot, we would risk Miss Tonks' safety and her usefulness as an Auror in the Ministry. After all, she is the only one who could have eavesdropped on this information and told it to people like us. Lucius Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge never would tell anyone who qualifies as our friends and family information about this Bill. Only Miss Tonks would be targeted. Again. Do not speak of this Bill so openly outside the Order. Is this understood?

Murmurs of agreement and acceptance were heard around the table.

"I will try to have more information for you about this Bill when we meet this week," Dumbledore said. "This meeting is about to come to an end. You all know your duties over the next few days. More schedules will be handed out next Wednesday. Molly, Arthur, will you please stay here with me, so that I may speak to you about your children and any concerns you might have about the Bill? Concerns you would rather not voice to the other members about?"

"Of course, Albus," Arthur said, and Molly nodded.

"The rest of you may be excused," Dumbledore said. "I know some of you need to return to your posts. Thank you all for being here this evening. And remember... only united are we strong, and we are only weak when we are divided. So concludes this evening's meeting of the Order of the Phoenix."

Tonks stood up and followed most of the other members out of the room.

"Tonks, Remus, I need to speak with you," Sirius said, as they entered the corridor outside the meeting room.

Tonks nodded. She and Remus followed Sirius up through the upper levels of the house, until they reached a room that Tonks knew was Sirius' bedroom. Sirius waved his wand – which had been procured by Dumbledore for him – around the room, muttering privacy, secrecy and silencing spells. Then he pointed his wand at a wizarding wireless radio on a nightstand near his table.

"We may talk freely, Molly," Albus Dumbledore's voice came over the radio, "Arthur will not be able to hear anything we have to speak further until I lift the enchantments I have placed on him."

"Sirius!" Remus said, "Did you place spying charms on the meeting room?"

"Yes," Sirius said, "They are behind Notice-Me-Not charms, and will never be discovered. Now, hush. We need to listen to this. It seems Arthur's been enchanted to ignore the discussion about to happen. I am curious as to why."

"... Ginny is thirteen, Albus!" Molly said. "There is still a month until her birthday! Harry Potter could already be married to somebody by the time she is old enough!"

"Not to worry, Molly," Dumbledore said. "When the Bill passes, I will ask an addendum be added that says that teens who are not yet fourteen but will be by August 31st should also be qualified for the Bill."

"'When the Bill passes', not if?" Tonks asked.

Sirius hushed her.

"Wait a minute!" Molly said. "Tonks said that Betrothed witches and wizards will be exempt! We could pen a Contract between Ginny and Harry! You could represent Harry as his magical Guardian."

"I have not been Harry Potter's magical guardian since October 31st of last year, Molly," Dumbledore said. "When Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire, he was found to be an Emancipated Minor by the representatives of Hogwarts, the Ministry, the Wizengamot, and Magic herself."

"What?!" Molly, Sirius, Remus and Tonks all exclaimed.

"Does Harry know this?" Molly asked.

"Of course he doesn't," Dumbledore said. "I have done everything I could to make sure he does not. Otherwise certain plans of ours would be ruined. No... in order to create a Betrothal Contract, Harry Potter must be present during the meeting in order to sign said contract. No Goblin would allow it otherwise... not even the possibility of a stand-in to do it for him. Not the Potter Account Manager, and certainly not the Weasley and Prewitt Account Manager. Betrothal Contracts can only be made Active if they are penned on Gringotts soil."

"So what do we do?" Molly asked. "You promised me Ginny would eventually be Harry's wife! And that mudblood Granger wouldn't get her mits on him!"

Tonks gasped at the use of the word 'mudblood'. Never did she suspect Molly Weasley to use that word. Especially about a girl who was a friend of her children!

"Ron wants her so Harry can't have her, and he will get her!" Molly said. "If it was her choice, she'd probably want to marry Harry. We both know that!"

"Of course I do," Dumbledore said. "Given it was I who found them kissing in a broom closet several times over the past few months at Hogwarts, and had to Obliviate them every single time."

Sirius and Remus growled, and Tonks gasped.

"Have no fear, Molly," Dumbledore said, "your son and Miss Granger will be well-paired together. And Ginny will soon be Lady Potter."

"Lady Potter?" Molly asked. "I thought you didn't want Harry to know he is a Lord? I thought you wanted to keep him oblivious of his family legacy?"

"As if!" Sirius growled. "I was going to make sure he knew about it this summer!"

"Unfortunately, due to this Marriage Law, it seems we have no other choice," Dumbledore said. "My current plan is to have Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and your children here next Wednesday evening, so we may tell them about the Marriage Law Bill, and how if they do not partake in a Marriage Ritual before next Saturday, and the Bill were to pass, then they may find themselves being paired up with unscrupulous students, such as Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson."

"Tonks told us Malfoy's son is betrothed to this Parkinson girl," Molly said.

"The children do not need to know this," Dumbledore said. "If Mr. Potter believes your daughter is to be the future wife of Draco Malfoy, then he would do anything to save her. He does have that saving-people-thing after all."

"Ginny and Draco are both purebloods," Remus said, "Harry knows that."

"Course he does," Sirius said, "But if Dumbledore told Harry that Malfoy could be married to Hermione instead..."

"He'd want to protect Hermione, not Ginny!" Tonks said. "And Dumbledore and Molly don't want that!"

"Exactly," Sirius said. "It seems my godson and Miss Granger are supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend right now if they hadn't been Obliviated by Dumbledore. Therefore... before Wednesday night, we need Harry and Hermione married, and their marriage consummated! I had my suspicions that Molly Weasley wanted Harry and Hermione to be married to her kids, and I wasn't sure if Harry and Hermione would support that. From the few times I met my godson and Hermione together, they were always so close. Closer than they were with Ron, or Ginny.

"I had no idea Dumbledore was a part of this scheme. But now it seems he and Molly have been scheming to get her children together with my godson and Hermione. We cannot let that happen."

"What should I tell my children?" Molly asked.

"Nothing," Dumbledore said. "It will all be taken care of by Wednesday. For now, we do nothing..

"Nothing?" Molly asked. "I could send Harry and Hermione my care packages so they will be more agreeable by Wednesday to support our plan."

"What do you want to bet those 'care packages' have Love Potions and stuff in them?" Sirius asked.

"God, I wish we had proof!" Tonks snarled. "I want to arrest this woman!"

"Calm yourself, Tonks," Sirius said, "We'll make sure Molly and Dumbledore pay eventually."

"I will allow this," Dumbledore said. "Especially if it helps Harry and Miss Granger agree to marry Ronald and Ginevra without argument. Once they are married, such 'care packages' will be unnecessary. They might be angry with us for putting them in this situation without their consent, but of course, once married they cannot divorce without agreement from the Ministry – if I understand this new Bill correctly that is – and it seems the only way that would happen is if Ginny and Miss Granger produce Squibs.

"Of course, then it could be discovered that Harry and Miss Granger are the reason Squibs are produced and... who knows... both could find themselves in hot water with the Ministry. I assume they would be forced to have enchantments placed on them so they would never be able to have another child again. After all... two purebloods from a family with seven children, all of whom are witches and wizards, could never have produced a Squib, so of course your children would be in the clear."

"Thank goodness nobody knows about Elizabeth," Molly muttered. "I would never be able to live that down."

"Wait," Tonks said, "Is Molly saying she had an eighth child, another daughter, who is a Squib?"

"Seems like it," Sirius muttered.

"I wonder when this happened," Remus said, "Before or after Ginny was born?"

"Anyway, I will make sure to have Fertility Draughts and Lust Potions ready to ensure the girls are pregnant, of course," Molly said.

"Of course," Albus said, "In fact, if they are discovered to be pregnant quickly, instead of half a year from now, the marriages will be more supported, since their marriages are already so successful, and Harry and Miss Granger will see that what has been done to them is for the best."

"I will go shopping tomorrow for the required Potion ingredients, and have them delivered by Sunday morning then," Molly said.

"Very well," Albus said, "I believe we are finished. I will lift the enchantments off of Arthur, and he will believe we've been discussing the futures of your children, and that he is very supportive of us working on getting Ginevra with Harry, and Ronald with Hermione respectively."

"Thank you, Albus," Molly said. "You are such a dear friend."

Sirius waved his wand toward the radio and it turned off.

"Fuck," Remus said, "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't hear it with my own ears. Obliviations, love plots, keeping Harry from knowing about his Emancipation and legacy! What the fuck?!"

"I have suspected some of this for a while, Remus," Sirius said. "Especially Harry not knowing his legacy. He has made no mention of it before. I didn't know why until now. Alright, here's the plan. Tonks, you are watching Harry tomorrow afternoon, right?"

"Yes," Tonks said.

"We know he jogs to the park every day," Sirius said. "You will follow him and reveal yourself. Tell him that you solemnly swear you are up to no good. When he asks who you are. say you are Padfoot's cousin. Then you will tell him about this marriage law bill, and the plots of Dumbledore and Molly. Then ask him how he feels about Hermione."

"Alright," Tonks said.

"Remus, you're watching Hermione tomorrow afternoon, yes?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," Remus said.

"You will meet with her – and her parents, if they are home – and let her know about the Bill and these plots," Sirius said. "I assume Harry and Hermione will agree to marry each other. So, here is what we are going to do. When both of you are finished, you will take Harry and Hermione to Gringotts via Apparation. I will meet you there."

"How?" Remus asked.

"Keeper Ragnok gave me a two-way Portkey that goes to Gringotts, then back to the destination I left from," Sirius said, grinning, "Anyway, I will meet you all there. Try to get there by two-o-clock. We will then meet with Keeper Ragnok, and explain to him what is going on, and that they wish to be married. Gringotts has a Marriage Ritual room. They will marry and consummate their marriage tomorrow. Then... we will take them to the Potter cottage in La Rochelle for their honeymoon, where they will remain until after the Wizengamot council meeting is over! We should be able to find the Portkey that goes to the cottage in one of the Potter Vaults."

"I am not sure Hermione's parents will agree to this," Remus said.

"Simply tell them if they do not agree to allow their daughter to marry Harry," Sirius said, "Then, if this Bill passes, she will marry a Pureblood who will probably not respect her, who will insult her and only call her "Mudblood" and "whore". Tell them she will be a sex slave and baby factory, to be raped several times a day even after she becomes pregnant. Tell them that she will likely never come to enjoy sex with the man she is forced to marry. Tell her parents they will have no choice on the matter. Do you really think parents of Muggleborn are going to have any say when it comes to their children marrying because of this Bill?"

"Point," Remus muttered.

"Are we in agreement?" Sirius asked. "Any problems with this plan?"

"Not for me," Tonks said. "If Harry and Hermione truly love each other, then they should marry each other and not someone else – including Molly's children."

"Same," Remus said. "Like you, Sirius, I noticed how close Harry and Hermione were when I taught them. Those two only ever had one serious argument, and to be honest, Ron started the argument and allowed it to carry on and make it worse. It had to do with the Firebolt you gave Harry, Sirius. Hermione reported it to Minerva McGonagall to make sure it wasn't hexed or cursed, and after it was confiscated, Ron was all steaming and yelling about how she had betrayed them. All because he wanted a chance to ride it. Harry barely said two words, and Hermione was upset and didn't talk to either of them. So, in truth, I never witnessed a real bad argument between Harry and Hermione that wasn't created by Ron."

"Hermione would be miserable if she had to marry Molly's son," Tonks said, sadly, "And if any of the Weasley children could produce a Squib, it would likely be him. Hermione would be in deep trouble if that happened, especially with what we heard Dumbledore say."

"True," Sirius said. "So Operation Harmony is underway?"

"Harmony?" Remus asked.

"Sounds good to me!" Sirius said, grinning.

"Operation Harmony it is," Tonks said.

"I suppose so," Remus said.

"Operation Harmony is underway!" Sirius said, grinning, "Now, next topic! Tonks, as you know, you are the daughter of a Black. I am Lord Black – the Ministry may not identify me as this right now, but Gringotts does, so it is official!"

"Yeah, I know that," Tonks said, "What of it?"

"Well, if this marriage law passes, then you're going to be forced to marry someone," Sirius said, "Someone you might not like. Someone who will force you to Morph into other appearances. Someone who will rape you, and make you their sex slave and baby factory."

"I get the point, Sirius," Tonks said, "Where are you going with this?"

"How would you like to marry somebody who would definitely not treat you like a sex-slave and baby factory?" Sirius asked.

"That would be in my best interests," Tonks said.

"Then, Miss Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius said, grinning; he motioned to Remus. "As Lord Black, it is my honor to introduce you to Remus Lupin, your future husband."

"WHAT?!" Remus and Tonks exclaimed.

* * *

 **What a way to end Chapter 1, huh? I've never done a marriage law fic, but I've had this plot bunny about this exact storyline for a marriage law in my head for a couple years now, and never had put it into words until now. I love stories where Harry and Hermione wise up the summer before fifth year and realize they are being manipulated and lied to by certain Weasleys and a certain old bastard. So I decided to write a marriage law story with this trope included.  
**

 **Why am I making this a Harem instead of a straight Harmony story? Because the Great Alliance - like many of my stories - exists in this universe, and I want some of the girls (only three of them!) in the Children of the Great Alliance to be with Harry too, to solve the problems that would show themselves.**

 **Plus it makes it more fun.**

 **Neville, Luna and Hannah are Betrothed, and therefore unaffected the law when it comes to them having to marry a Muggleborn or Half-blood. Remus and Tonks will be married before the Law passes, so they will also be unaffected.**


	13. Untitled Harry Potter Time Travel Story

**Title: Untitled Harry Potter Time Travel Story**

 **Summary: A betrayed and heartbroken 39 year old Harry Potter travels back in time to minutes before the Final Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and merges with his younger self.**

 **Rating** : **M**

 **Warnings: Time Travel, Sexual Situations involving Underage characters (15+), Smart!Powerful!Independent!Harry; Ancient and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys and others; other warnings labeled individually in chapters.**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione (possibly more partners); Sirius/Amelia**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **Author's Note: Parts of this story is inspired by DrT's story "Re-Ordered", found on Ficwad.**

 **So here is another "First" chapter of a story that I was working on that I might work on and publish in the future. This is, once again, another time travel story with Harry/Hermione as a focused relationship, but it is possible there could be a Moresome relationship with anywhere between one to three more partners. I haven't completely decided.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
Return And Resurrection**

 **Thursday, June 24** **th** **, 1995**

Minerva McGonagall was currently escorting Harry Potter toward the Quidditch Pitch, where the Third, and final, Task of the Triwizard Tournament would begin shortly. She was very concerned for the young man, who she sometimes thought of like a grandson, and was one of her favorite Lions of Gryffindor (however, if asked if she had favorite students, she would vehemently deny it).

Harry Potter had gone through so much over the past several months, ever since being entered involuntarily into the Triwizard Tournament. Truthfully, she could say that Harry had gone through so much since he had entered Hogwarts as a first year back in September of 1991! But this year was so much more terrible than anything Harry had faced, and she was happy and relieved that Harry had survived it so far.

So far...

The number one theory about why Harry was entered into the Triwizard Tournament was that someone had wanted him to be killed in the Tournament. He had done well enough in the first two Tasks, though he had been injured in the First Task. But now... whoever wanted to hurt the young man only had one more chance if they were, indeed, trying to interfere in the Tournament and kill him.

Minerva wanted so badly to help Harry and give him advice on what he should do in the hedge maze. She wanted to tell him of the magical creatures and various magical enchantments he could find there, but she could not. She, like all the other Professors, could not help him prepare for the Tasks. So all she could do was give him well wishes and wish him good luck.

And hope. Hope that the young Lion would be able to get through the Task alive, if not unharmed.

She barely glanced over at the young man who was walking beside her, if only so he wouldn't notice how concerned she was for his well-being.

And then something happened that made her focus on him more than she had been. Something that made her even more concerned than she had been.

Harry Potter collapsed bonelessly onto the ground, and seemed to have a brief seizure, before he went unconscious.

* * *

Harry Potter blinked his eyes open and found he was laying on his back. However, he was not on the grassy Grounds of Hogwarts Castle. He was in some kind of bright, white and very nondescript room. He looked around, and nearly yelped as he found that he was not alone. A man was standing near him, frowning and looking down at him. As Harry studied the man, he gasped out loud, as he realized who the man looked like.

"D-Dad?" Harry asked.

"I am not James Potter, though I can understand why you might think so," the man said, "Everyone always comments how much we look like our father..."

"'We?'" Harry echoed, "'Our?"

"Yes," the man said, "I am you, Harry... from the year 2019. What is today's date, for you?"

"June 24th, 1995," Harry said. "I was heading down to the Quidditch Pitch with Professor McGonagall for the..."

"The Third Task," Future!Harry said, then he nodded, "Not exactly when I had hoped to return, but it is, I admit, better than what it could have been. I wanted to return at least a month before now so I could do some things before the Third Task. I suppose I'll just have to rework my plans a bit."

"You traveled back in time," Harry realized, "Why? Was the future that bad?"

"Allow me to show you," Future!Harry said.

Future!Harry's memories went through the younger Harry's mind in a split-second, but he had seen everything. Being transported via Portkey from the maze to a graveyard. Cedric Diggory's death. Witnessing Voldemort's ressurection. Being attacked by two Dementors. The Order of the Phoenix. A sham trial. Having to put up a vile woman named Dolores Umbridge, who had been the Defense Professor for Harry's fifth year, but was really there to cause havoc and take over the school.

And on and on it went... through the rest of fifth year. Sirius' death nearly caused Harry to faint again. And things just got worse. The Prophecy. Horcruxes, more death, more destruction. Wait... what was that about dating Ginny Weasley? He didn't even like her that way. What changed in the next year or so?

But then Harry defeated Voldemort at the climax of a huge battle where several people, including students and friends of Harry's, died.

Life continued after Voldemort's demise, with Harry dating Ginny Weasley more and getting married to her. Hermione getting married to Ron Weasley. Harry having children with Ginny. But Harry couldn't shake the fact that his life with Ginny seemed wrong.

Then he got his answer as to what was exactly wrong.

"No! Hermione!" Harry cried out as the story became clearer. "What happened to her? Oh... those... those bastards!"

"Coming back this far and being able to defeat Voldemort early," Future!Harry said, "while saving Cedric, and Sirius and everyone else who died – that's just a bonus, My real reason for being here is to make Ron, Ginny and Molly Weasley, and Albus Dumbledore pay for what they did to us. And, of course, to have a life with Hermione that I had once been robbed of.

"So now you understand. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with, and marry Ginny Weasley. Hermione and I were meant to fall in love, get married, have some beautiful children and live happily ever ater. But due to Molly giving Hermione and I Love Potions, the summer before sixth year, keyed to Ron and Ginny respectively – something those traitorous bastards certainly agreed with – that didn't happen. And Hermione paid for those mistakes with her life. Ron Weasley beat her and abused her on many occasions, and Ginny and Molly helped him cover it up. Until one day, Ron snapped and killed Hermione. And as you saw, I made them all pay for it."

"But even then you couldn't live wih the fact that she was gone," younger Harry said.

He couldn't blame his future self. Hermione had been his rock throughout the past year, when it came to the Triwizard Tournament. While Ron Weasley had shunned him for nearly a month, believing he entered his name in the Goblet of Fire, his friendship with Hermione remained solid, and grew even stronger. It was no surprise that he could fall in love with Hermione. He could still remember seeing her walk down the stairs toward the Entrance Hall the night of the Yule Ball. He could still remember how she had taken his breath away.

"Yes," Future!Harry said. "Even having the children around couldn't keep me happy."

"Because those children were reminders of yours and Ginny's, and Ron and Hermione's false relationships," younger Harry said, nodding. "But I don't understand. Where does Dumbledore come into this? I know he hid the Prophecy and the fact we're a Horcrux from us. But... what else did he do?"

"He was in on the Love Potion plot," Future!Harry said. "I found out that Dumbledore didn't want me and Hermione together, because she would help me become smarter and stronger. If I was with her, if I loved her, if I wanted to have a happy life with her, I wouldn't have gone into the Forest to meet Voldemort. I wouldn't have sacrificed myself..."

"Was it so bad?" younger Harry asked. "I mean... you survived it."

Future!Harry scoffed. "I shouldn't have had to do it in the first place. The Goblins of Gringotts can remove the Horcrux from our scar. If I had the proper relationship with the Goblins and Gringotts early on, instead of _after_ I defeated Voldemort, they could have removed the Horcrux from my scar, and I wouldn't have had to get hit with a Killing Curse from Voldemort. No... Albus Dumbledore didn't tell me about the Horcrux in our head, because he wanted Voldemort to kill me. He didn't plan on dying, oh no. He planned on living to see Voldemort kill me, so he could kill Voldemort and lead the magical society of Great Britain as the Vanquisher of Voldemort, just as he had when he defeated Grindelwald. He didn't want to face the possibility of someone else taking over as the Leader of the Light, leaving him as simply another page in a history book.

"Dumbledore needs to be taken down a few notches. I plan on dealing with Dumbledore, the Weasleys, right along with Voldemort, his minions, and anyone else who wishes to cause me and my friends trouble."

"Like Umbridge... and Fudge," younger Harry said, nodding. "What about Snape? I saw in the memories... you seem to have some respect for him after his death. You named one of your sons after him... and Dumbledore!"

Future!Harry grimaced. "Albus Severus Potter was Ginny's idea, not mine. I understood after I discovered the Potions plot why she wanted to name our son that. Albus Dumbledore helped her enthrall me... and so did Snape... he and Molly brewed the Potions that Hermione and I were dosed with. And I think it was part of those concoctions of Potions that forced me to respect Dumbledore and Snape."

"Oh," younger Harry said, nodding. "So... what happens now? Do you... take over? Or what?"

"Not exactly," Future!Harry said. "We're going to merge. Magic, power, knowledge, skill, memories, et cetera. Together, when we merge, we'll be ready to do everything I want to do. This summer, I'm going be working on a few Potions, including nutrient potions and others of similar types. Most of these recipes I have planned haven't been discovered in this timeline, but I can make them anyway. All the ingredients are readily available in any Apothecary. These Potions will make us healthier, taller and stronger, when it comes to our body. There will be other benefits as well."

"Cool," younger Harry said, "That sounds brilliant!"

"It truly is," Future!Harry said, "Anyway, the main reason I am not going to take you over completely... is because it has been a long time since I was a teenager. I am, after all, thirty-nine years old. Without you, people like Dumbledore and Snape might figure out what is going on."

Harry didn't completely understand, but he nodded anyway. "Alright. So... what happens now?"

"Now, we wake up," Future!Harry said, "Professor McGonagall must be going out of her mind. Fortunately, we've only been out for less than a minute, so I doubt she could do too much. We'll just make up an excuse. Ready?"

Harry gulped and nodded. Then he blacked out again.

* * *

When he came to, Harry was laying on the grass of the Grounds of Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall was waving her wand over him.

Harry grunted to show he was awake.

"Oh, Har – Mr. Potter, you're awake!" McGonagall said. "Thank goodness! You collapsed and..."

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry cut in.

Much to McGonagall's consternation and fuss, Harry got to his feet.

"Mr. Potter, you shouldn't be standing!" McGonagall growled. "You fainted!"

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry repeated. "Just a bit overwhelmed. I believe you were taking me to the Quidditch Pitch."

"Well, I was, but now I believe I shall take you to the Hospital Wing!" McGonagall said. "Then I can tell the Headmaster we must delay the Task."

"No!" Harry growled., and continued before McGonagall could say anything. "Think, Professor! If we delay it, anything could happen. Bad things could happen. The powers that be – the Goblet of Fire or whatever – could decide that I am forfeiting, which means I could lose my magic!"

McGonagall stared at Harry, frowning. Then she sighed deeply. "You have a point, Mr. Potter. Are you sure you're able to compete? There is the option of beginning the Task then backing out. That would be enough for 'the powers that be', as you say."

"I'm fine, Professor," Harry repeated for a third time. "If I pussy out now -"

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall gasped, "Language! You're lucky I'm feeling compassionate about your plight right now, or you'd be losing points and getting detention!"

Harry sighed. This was exactly why the future Harry was worried about completely taking over. Some of his behavior of his future self might show itself. He didn't care about minding his language in the future. He also was far more opinionated, as well as other things. He was no longer the malleable puppet Dumbledore had hoped he would be. He knew he'd have to watch himself, and allow his younger, present self to influence him. Otherwise his enemies, such as Dumbledore, would discover his game too early.

"If I back out now," Harry amended, "I will be the laughingstock of not only Gryffindor but Hogwarts as well. I might as well never show my face in Gryffindor Tower again! It is the home of the brave after all!"

McGonagall actually looked proud for a moment, before her expression sobered.

"I suppose you're right." McGonagall said, then sighed. "Fine... follow me, Mr. Potter. We'll go to the Quidditch Pitch. But you will allow Madam Pomfrey to look you over before you begin the Task."

"You mean she's going to be there?" Harry asked, with a sly grin, "And not in the Hospital Wing where you were thinking of bringing me?"

"You are as cheeky as your father at the worst of times, Mr. Potter," McGonagall groused.

"And you just sounded like Snape, Professor McGonagall," Harry replied.

"That's 'Professor Snape', Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

"He calls me 'Potter', so I call him 'Snape'," Harry said, shrugging.

McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "Follow me, Mr. Potter. We cannot delay any longer. We're lucky your collapse hasn't gained any attention!"

Harry silently agreed as he followed the Transfiguration Professor. Luckily, none of the students had come out of Hogwarts just yet, to make their way down to the Quidditch Pitch. And neither Cedric, Fleur or Krum seemed to be nearby. He could imagine the looks on their faces if they had seen him collapse.

 _Maybe it would have been better if they saw me faint,_ Harry mused. _Thinking I am nervous about the final Task. Thinking I am weak. It would let them underestimate me. Oh well... not like I really need them to underestimate me. There's no chance of them beating me._

Harry considered himself lucky that he had prepared himself for the maze in the future before he had traveled back to the past. He had considered waiting until he was back in the past to prepare for the maze. But he decided against that, in case something like this exact scenario happened – him arriving back in the past the day of the Third Task. The fact that he had arrived only mere minutes before the Task was rather disconcerting, but, as he told his younger self, it was doable.

His preparation for the maze in the future was diving into a Pensieve and studying his memories of the maze. He decided to use the same route, minus the many wrong turns and dead ends he had encountered the last time through. He would just get through the obstacles quicker than he had last time. With his magical knowledge and skills, he had no doubts he could get to the Cup long before Cedric did.

 _Cedric will not be going to the graveyard with me this time,_ Harry vowed. _This time, he will live.  
_  
Soon, Harry and Professor McGonagall arrived at the Quidditch Pitch, which was just as Harry remembered it at this moment in time. The hedges were twenty-feet high, and Harry could see the four archways which led into the maze. Each champion would choose one of the entrances. Harry and Cedric would be going first, as they were tied for first in points leading up to the task.

Professor McGonagall led Harry over to Madam Pomfrey who was standing outside a makeshift Hospital Tent.

"Poppy, Mr. Potter fainted on the journey here," McGonagall said. "Could you check on him, please?"

"I cannot give him any Potions until after the Task, Minerva," Madam Pomfrey said, "That's the rules of the Tournament, no matter how much I wanted it to change. I can only look him over."

"Very well," McGonagall said.

As Madam Pomfrey readied her wand Harry waved his own hand where neither the Deputy Headmistress nor the Hogwarts Healer could see it. He cast a wandless, silent Compulsion Charm on Madam Pomfrey, so she wouldn't notice anything too off about him. He wasn't sure whether or not his recently merged forms of his future and present selves would be identifiable with Diagnostic Charms, especially this early on, but he didn't want to chance Madam Pomfrey discovering anything, and telling Dumbledore about it.

Harry was an expert at wandless and silent magic, having trained with it and mastering it during his career as an Auror. He had theorized, due to the merging, that he would be able to do wandless and silent magic in his fourteen year old body. He was quite happy to have it confirmed, as he noticed Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows flutter as the Compulsion Charm settled over her.

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over him a few times, then smiled at Harry and Professor McGonagall.

"He doesn't seem to be affected from his bout of fainting," Madam Pomfrey said. "I have no complaints about him performing the Task."

"Truly?" McGonagall asked.

Madam Pomfrey merely nodded and smiled.

"I told you I was fine, Professor," Harry said.

"Well, it is nice to have it confirmed anyway, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

"If that is all," Harry said, "I need to get ready for the Task."

"Of course, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, "Harry? Good luck this evening."

Harry was momentarily shocked that the strict Professor had called him by his first name. Even as an adult, she called him Mr. Potter or Lord Potter.

"Thank you, Professor," he said with a smile.

The students and other spectators were making their way to the seating areas, as Harry walked over to the other three Champions. Almost immediately, Harry found Hermione standing, smiling and waving in his direction. Ron, Ginny, Molly and Bill Weasley were all near Hermione, as were several other Gryffindors. Harry had to use his Occlumency abilities to calm himself down so he wouldn't express any of the emotions he felt for the three traitorous Weasleys, who dared to believe they were his friends. He simply waved and smiled, focusing on Hermione, even though the others would think he was waving at them as well.

Harry turned his attention to his three fellow Champions, all of whom were staring at the maze with different expressions. They all seemed focused on the task ahead, however, as none of them were glancing his way.

The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," Professor McGonagall said to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"

The champions nodded.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.

"Good luck, Harry," Hagrid whispered.

The four Professors walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze.

Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each — Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points — Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place — Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

As a third round of applause rang from the spectators, Harry and Cedric made their way over to two of the four archways. Harry had made sure to stand nearest the same archway he had been in front of the last time around. He didn't want to risk the chance that Cedric might choose it, and he would have to go into a route he wasn't prepared for.

Harry looked toward Cedric, who glanced back at him. Harry gave him a small smile and a nod, which Cedric returned.

 _Sorry, Cedric,_ Harry said, _Won't let you get anywhere near the Cup this time. You're going to live and have a happy, and healthy future, whether it is with Cho or not.  
_ _  
_"So... on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three — two — one —"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze. The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, as he focused on the memories of his Pensieve sessions, in which he studied the maze. He opened his eyes and cast a charm over himself, enhancing the speed of his jogging. He started forward through the maze, letting his memories guide him. By the time Bagman blew his whistle a second time, signalling Krum entering the maze, Harry was already several yards and a couple left and right turns into the maze. Owing to the Pensieve studies, he knew which directions to go, which paths to take, and how to avoid dead ends. Like last time, he hadn't encountered any obstacles by the time the sharp whistle rang out, announcing Fleur's entrance into the maze. He knew Crouch, Junior, posing as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was clearing a few obstacles for him.

He soon came upon one path in the maze where, during the last go around, he had run into Cedric Diggory, who had gotten on the wrong side of a Blast-Ended Skrewt. However, it appeared he had arrived there much sooner, owing to him avoiding dead ends. He simply hurried forward and immediately felt the obvious chilly air of a Dementor. However... owing to his Pensieve studies, he knew this wasn't a real Dementor.

"Riddikulus!" Harry exclaimed.

There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke. Harry smirked and hurried forward. Again, he was able to avoid going toward a couple dead ends he had encountered the last time around.

Soon enough, he encountered a golden mist he remembered from his Pensieve studies. Harry cast an advanced charm he studied for this exact moment, and the golden mist vanished. Still, he cautiously moved forward until he reached where the mist had been. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief and hurried forward, having passed the obstacle.

Nearly five minutes later, five minutes of encountering nothing – Crouch, Junior seemed to working overtime, since he was doing so well in the maze – Harry heard Fleur Delacour scream out in fear and pain. He knew an Imperiused Viktor Krum had attacked her. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, and continued to move forward. He then recalled that he had been back at the golden mist the last time Fleur had been attacked by the Imperiused Krum. He was already five minutes ahead of schedule. This was a very good thing.

Another three minutes passed, easily avoiding a couple more wrong turns and dead ends, as he recalled the Pensieve studies. Soon, he encountered a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Flipendo, Bombarda, Impedimenta!" Harry exclaimed, casting a spell-chain of curses and hexes.

The Skrewt screeched in agitated pain as he was flipped over, then thrown backwards, then finally froze, all in only a couple of seconds. Harry cast an overpowered Stunning Spell on the vulnerable underside of the Skrewt, knocking it out for good as he ran past it, and hurried further into the maze.

After another five minutes, he came upon a familiar spot where, last time, he had encountered Cedric and Krum dueling, with Krum throwing Cruciatus Curses. However, due to the speed and lack of dead ends and wrong turns, Harry was at least five minutes – if not more – ahead of Cedric and Krum.

Harry continued moving forward, and three minutes later, he found what he was looking for: the Sphinx.

It had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry as he approached.

"I seek the path beyond you, great Sphinx," Harry said, calmly. "Give me your riddle, and I will answer it."

The Sphinx raised an eyebrow, then nodded. In a deep, hoarse voice, she said, "Answer on your first guess — I let you pass. Answer wrongly — I attack. Remain silent — I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

"Very well," Harry said.

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:

" _First think of the person who lives in disguise,  
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.  
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,  
The middle of middle and end of the end?  
And finally give me the sound often heard  
During the search for a hard-to-find word.  
Now string them together, and answer me this,  
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"  
_  
Harry sighed in relief. He had hoped it would be the same riddle as last time, and it was.

"The answer is a Spider, Great Sphinx," Harry said.

The sphinx smiled broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass. Harry merely nodded at her with respect, which she returned, and he hurried forward.

Two minutes later, he turned a corner and saw – at the far end of the path – the Triwizard Cup. However, he knew the obstacles weren't finished. He knew what he was about to encounter. Last time, he had injured his leg due to this encounter, which had caused him a lot of pain during his time in the graveyard, and had definitely reduced his mobility. This time, he would not, could not, let that happen. If he was injured before he reached the graveyard, it would make his plan far more difficult.

He inhaled and exhaled, focusing himself, then headed forward. Halfway down the path, he heard movement to his left. He turned and found a large Acromantula heading toward his direction. He immediately cast several lethal and powerful spells, including Bombardments and others toward the large spider. He aimed several spells toward the legs and on either side of the spider just in case it tried to dodge. The spells hit two of the spider's legs, followed by a Bombardment directly to the face. The Acromantula screeched in pain as it was thrown backwards through the air. Harry cast an overpowered Stunning Spell to make sure the spider stayed down. Then he turned and walked toward the Triwizard Cup. As he reached the cup, he inhaled and exhaled. He knew what needed to happen. He had prepared for this moment.

Harry grabbed the handle of the Triwizard Cup with one hand and felt the familiar tug of his navel as the Portkey activated. A swirl of color and a gust of wind surrounded him as he traveled with the Portkey. As it slowed down, he pushed his legs forward, in a walking motion, as he landed on the ground.

Sure enough, he was standing in the graveyard.

 _Time for a little show,_ Harry mused.

"Uh – er – I suppose this must be part of the Task then," Harry said, faking a timid, unsure tone, "So what do I need to do now then?"

He pointed his wand forward, then heard what he was waiting for: Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, cast an Expelliarmus. Harry dropped his wand, near the Triwizard Cup Portkey, before the Disarming Hex could reach him, and was relieved when it didn't go toward Wormtail instead.

Wormtail walked toward him, pointing his wand – or rather Voldemort's wand – at Harry.

"You!" Harry snarled, though he was mostly acting at the moment.

"Y-yes, it is me, H-Harry!" Wormtail stammered. "S-surprised to s-see me?"

"What do you want?" Harry asked.

Harry knew it was coming, and he allowed it to happen. Ropes appeared from Voldemort's wand and wrapped around Harry. Harry fell over, then was brought back to his feet with another spell. He was lifted into the air and found himself floating over toward a marble headstone, which he knew belonged to Voldemort's Muggle father. Soon enough, he was tied to the headstone, his back pressed against the marble. Once sure that Harry was bound so tightly to the headstone that he couldn't move an inch, Wormtail drew a length of some black material from the inside of his cloak and stuffed it roughly into Harry's mouth; then, without a word, he turned from Harry and hurried away.

Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't mind the gag or the ropes. He'd easily be able to do away with all of it, but he couldn't do it yet. He had to wait for the opportune moment.

He could hear noises at his feet. He looked down and saw a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone where he was tied.

 _I'll deal with you and the Horcrux inside of you soon enough, Maledictus,_ Harry vowed.

Wormtail's fast, wheezy breathing was growing louder again. It sounded as though he was forcing something heavy across the ground. Then he came back within Harry's range of vision, and Harry saw him pushing a stone cauldron to the foot of the grave. He then begun to prepare what would ultimately be the ritual that would bring Lord Voldemort back to a full body.

 _Would you hurry up, Wormtail?_ Harry mused, _I don't have all night!_

Wormtail walked away, out of view, again, and returned a minute later, carrying what Harry knew was the homonculus frorm of Lord Voldemort.

" _Is it ready, Wormtail?!"_ Voldemort hissed.

"It is nearly ready, M-Master," Wormtail stammered, "S-Sorry it was not ready s-sooner. The boy m-made it here quicker than was assumed. Junior m-must have b-been rather eager to m-make sure the b-boy made it through the m-maze."

" _Of course he was," Voldemort hissed, "He is my most loyal servant, after all. Now silence yourself, and get your task done! Now!"_

A moment passed, and the whole surface of the water was alight with sparks.

"It is ready, Master," Wormtail said.

" _Now,_ " Voldemort hissed.

Wormtail lowered Voldemort into the cauldron; there was a hiss, and the homonculus vanished below the surface; Harry heard its frail body hit the bottom with a soft thud.

Wormtail was speaking. His voice shook; he seemed frightened beyond his wits. He raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke to the night.

 _"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"_

The surface of the grave at Harry's feet cracked. Harry watched as a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at Wormtail's command and fell softly into the cauldron. The surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.

And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.

 _"Flesh — of the servant — w-willingly given — you will — revive — your master."_

He stretched his right hand out in front of him — the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward. Harry watched, with a cold smirk, as Wormtail brought the dagger down and cut off his hand at the wrist. Wormtail screamed out in agony and pain as his hand fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Wormtail picked up his hand and threw it into the cauldron with a splash.

Ignoring what the cauldron was doing, Harry wandlessly and silently cast a numbing charm on his arms. He knew what was about to happen, and he didn't need the pain to distract him.

 _"B-blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will... resurrect your foe,"_ Wormtail chainted.

The dagger came down on Harry's arm, slicing it open. Though he felt no pain due to the numbing charms, he let out a scream, so Wormtail would think he was feeling the pain. It seemed to work, because Wormtail made a satisfied sneer in Harry's direction as he collected a few drops of blood on the dagger.

As soon as Wormtail turned around, Harry cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm on himself, then cast silent charms on his gag and ropes. By the time Wormtail was dropping the blood into the cauldron, Harry was free of his bindings.

Harry wasn't paying attention to the Cauldron at all. He knew what was going on, but he needed to be ready to make his move. He was mindful of where Nagini the Maledictus was, but he also knew his Notice-Me-Not was so powerful that Nagini wouldn't notice him until he lifted it. Harry crept over to the Triwizard Cup, collected his wand from the ground and waited.

He watched as the cauldron began to spit and bubble. As soon as he saw Voldemort began to rise out of the cauldron, Harry pointed his wand at Nagini, while watching Wormtail who was distracted, watching his Master rise again.

He cast a silent Cutting Curse toward Nagini, and the serpent cried out in shock and pain as the Curse sliced off its head. The dark, black vapor that used to be the Horcrux, screeched as it dissipated into nothing, causing Wormtail to turn toward the sound.

Harry lifted the Notice-Me-Not Charm, then pointed his wand toward Wormtail.

"Accio Voldemort's Wand!" Harry exclaimed "Accio Peter Pettigrew!"

Wormtail yelped as Voldemort's wand was torn from his remaining hand and zoomed over to Harry. Harry caught it. Even before the wand reached Harry's hand, Wormtail was being thrown through the air toward him. Wormtail landed on the ground, and Harry cast a Stunning Spell on him.

Voldemort was still standing in the cauldron, but he was looking at Harry with an angry expression. Harry pocketed Voldemort's wand, grabbed Wormtail's hand, then waved at the enraged and shocked – and newly resurrected – Voldemort. He then brought his hand down onto the Cup portkey.

As he felt that familiar pull of his navel, Harry heard the enraged Voldemort scream out in frustration for a moment, before it was muffled by the wind whipping around him.

A moment later, Harry, Wormtail, and Voldemort's wand were on their way back to Hogwarts, leaving Voldemort in the graveyard alone with nothing but the corpse of his trusted familiar.

* * *

 **And there you go. I am currently working on Yule Ball Drama, though I am also focusing on Free Use Experience as well. This is just a possible future story of mine.**

 **So what do you think?**


	14. Harry Potter And The Marked Mate

**Title: Harry Potter and the Marked Mate**

 **Summary: In a world where Soulmate-Identifying Marks exist and signal when couples are Soul-Mates….**

 **Harry Potter grew up knowing he had a Soul-Mate, thanks to the Soulmate-Identifying Mark on his right arm. He had many childhood friends, and while a few of them had Marks of their own, none of them matched his Mark. His own twin sister, Rose, had known her Soul-Mate - their own godbrother! - since they were babies! So why hadn't he met his?**

 **That all changes when Hermione Granger and her parents visit Gringotts the first time they visit Diagon Alley.**

 **Harry Potter will soon be meeting his Marked Mate...**

 **Rating: M**

 **Warnings: Soulmate Identifying Marks; Soul-Bond (Sort of); Betrothal Contracts; Lily Potter Lives; James Potter Lives; Sirius Doesn't Go To Azkaban; Twins-Who-Lived; Lords and Ladies, Ancient and Noble Houses; Graphic Underage Sexual Situations; Severe Character Bashing: Albus Dumbledore; Severus Snape; some Weasleys; and others...**

 **Ships: Harry/Hermione, James/Lily, Sirius/Amelia, Rose Potter(OFC)/Eli Black(OMC); Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbot; Susan Bones/Terry Boot; Padma Patil/Ivan Blishwick (OMC)**

 **Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

 **Author's Note: This story takes place in the same Universe as The Free Use Experience, except there is no Free Use Experience in this story. As in that story, James and Lily live, Harry and Rose are twins, the whole family survived the Halloween Incident in '81 in Godric's Hollow, Sirius didn't go to Azkaban, and he and Amelia married (Amelia is Sirius' age), around the same time as James and Lily, and have children. Except in this story, James and Lily, and Sirius and Amelia have a few more children than they do in FUE.**

 **I changed computers recently, after my last one had some real problems. This one is taking a bit to get adjusted to. I started using Google Docs to write my stories, and upload my stories on. So if this story has any formatting issues, it is because of my new exploration into using Google Docs. This is also the first time I've used the Copy-And-Paste feature on this site.**

 **So while I adjust to this, and continue on my WIP stories, here is another entry into a story I might start working on and posting in the future. It is a Soulmate-Identifying Mark story, and sort of Soul-Bond, but probably not as extreme as the Soul-Bond in my Bonds of Time Series.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **Finally!**

 **Saturday, September 22nd, 1990 - Potter Manor, Northampton - Late Afternoon**

Lily Potter stepped into her husband's Study in Potter Manor, and found James Potter seated at his desk.

"Melina said you wanted to see me?" Lily asked, as she sat down in a chair on the closest side of the desk.

"I received a letter from our Gringotts Account Manager, Keeper Ragnok The Sixth a few minutes ago," James said. "Harry's Soul-Mate has finally been identified."

Lily smiled, feeling her eyes go misty. "Oh, James. After all this time. Harry's been waiting for years. Who is she? I assume it's a girl, right?"

Lily knew Soul-Mates between two males were possible, if rare. But their son, Harry, was the Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. It would devastate not only James, but Harry himself, if he couldn't marry a girl in the future who would give him children. As Heir, that was not just his duty, but it was his dream.

"It's a girl," James said, smiling. "You're going to like her, I think. She's a Muggleborn, who just had her eleventh birthday a few days ago. She and her parents just visited Diagon Alley today. As you know, most Muggleborn are usually identified by the Ministry the first time they do accidental magic…"

"They're visited unknowingly by a Ministry worker," Lily said, "the Muggleborn's parents Compelled to take the child to a Muggle Hospital. They unknowingly meet a Healer there, where they are given Magical Inoculations. And if they have a Soul Mark, it is magically hidden from view, and any knowledge of it between the child and the parents Obliviated. For the Muggleborn's privacy, The Mark isn't even recorded in the Ministry or at Gringotts for Muggleborns like it is for magical-raised witches and wizards, until it is uncovered the first time they visit Gringotts."

"It has been this way for over a Century," James continued, "ever since the first Marked Muggleborn was killed by their Soul-Mate's blood-bigot father, who hated that his pureblood son shared a Mark with a Muggleborn. The son killed himself two weeks later, because he couldn't live without his Soul-Mate. Ever since then, Muggleborn - especially Marked Muggleborn - have been protected with a lot more severe laws."

"Mostly because their Soul-Mates might be purebloods or highborn half-bloods," Lily said, nodding. "So who is she?"

"Her name is Hermione Jean Granger," James said, "Just turned eleven on the 19th. Was met by Minerva McGonagall that very evening - she's still very dedicated to her role in introducing Muggleborns to our world, even during the school year, it appears. Oh, and by the way… yes… she's related to that Granger."

"Hector Dagworth-Granger?" Lily asked, her eyes wide. "Founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"Related through Hector's Squib Grandson, who took the Dagworth out of his name, when he left magical society in self-exile," James said, nodding. "Hermione's the first magical in a few generations in the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. Her father is just the latest first-born Squib in a few generations of first-born Granger Squibs, starting with Hector's Grandson."

"Alright," Lily said, "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, due to the fact that Hermione is the Marked Mate of our son," James said, "Keeper Ragnok now is the Account Manager for Hermione, as well as the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. Hermione doesn't know of her Legacy yet, apparently, nor does she know about Marks and Soul-Mates. So I'm going to have Ragnok send a letter to the Grangers asking for a meeting, so he can inform her of her Legacy. You, Harry and I will visit Gringotts on the day of the arranged meeting, so we can meet the Grangers."

"Rose can spend the day with Eli and the Blacks on the day of the meeting," Lily said. "She keeps asking when she can spend time with her Marked Mate, even though she saw him last week."

"We have been waiting to officially pen a Contract between Rose and Eli," James said, "Even though they are fated to marry anyway. We've been waiting in order to not make Harry too jealous of his twin sister and her Marked Mate, who also just so happens to be his best friend. We'll speak with the Grangers about Betrothal Contracts, and if they agree, then we'll discuss a Contract with Sirius and Amelia."

Lily sniffled. "Our babies are growing up so quickly. In a year they'll be at Hogwarts, and now they both have their Soul-Mates."

"They'll always be our babies, Lily - and of course, there are our other babies, let's not forget about them," James said, then eyed Lily's six-month pregnant belly - she was due around Christmas, "Including the one growing inside you. Hopefully this one won't be our first Marked child since Harry and Rose."

Lord James and Lady Lily Potter were the proud parents of seven wonderful children with another one on the way. Harry and Rose, age 10, were their first pair of twins - and their only Marked children. Then there was Iris, who was 8 - Lily had been unknowingly pregnant with her the horrifying night the dark wizard, Voldemort, attacked them on Halloween of '81. Next there was Charlus - named after his grandfather - who was 6, and would turn 7 the following month. Then there was Ivy, who had just turned 5. Finally, there were the two youngest - and second pair of Potter Twins - two girls, Siri and Dorea, who were 3. Siri was named after their Uncle - and James' best friend - Sirius Black, while Dorea was named after their grandmother.

They had planned on Siri and Dorea being their last children, after Lily had given her husband what he had dreamed of - a Quidditch Team full of Children. Then Lily discovered she was pregnant a few months ago. Lily was now pregnant with their third son, and they were still debating names. Her due-date was projected between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

James had gotten magically 'snipped' at St. Mungo's the very same day Lily discovered she was pregnant. He had come home, after she had spent hours dealing with morning sickness and a houseful of children. Lily had told him he had gotten her knocked up again, then hexed him several times.

"Go to St. Mungo's and fix all that up!" Lily snarled, "And don't come back until you lose the ability to knock me up again! I gave you a Quidditch Team full of children, Potter! I didn't promise you a Reserve player! How can an only son of generations of only sons, give his wife eight children?"

Lily Potter loved her children. She just stopped liking being pregnant after being bedridden for the last month during her last pregnancy.

"We'll talk to Harry and Rose about this after dinner this evening," Lily said. "The rest of the children, even Iris, is too young for this. Especially since none of them are Marked. Iris still doesn't like how her favorite sister, Rose, hangs out with Eli more than she does with her."

"If I had to bet on which of our children turned out gay, it would be Iris," James said, with a smirk. "Not that her closeness to Rose has anything to do with that."

"Don't make me think about another future love-life of one of my children," Lily muttered. "I just discovered my baby boy's Marked Mate has been found."

"Thank Merlin for that," James chuckled. "When I realized our son's Marked Mate wasn't anybody whose Mark is registered with the Ministry and Gringotts, I thought our son had a foreign witch for a Marked Mate. Ambassador Delacour, the French Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic, has two daughters - they're Veela, like their mother. I was tempted to ask him if either of his daughters have Marks. His youngest is about Harry's age - she turns ten in December. The eldest is… twelve or thirteen. I was so tempted… they're beautiful girls, almost obscenely beautiful."

"Would you have wanted one of the Ambassador's daughters to be his Marked Mate?" Lily asked.

"Honestly? No," James said, shaking his head. "As I said, they're Veela. Which means…"

Lily recognized her husband's thoughts immediately. "They can only have daughters. They could have never given Harry, the future Lord of the House of Potter, an Heir, only Heiresses. Which could have only meant a Line-Continuation Contract for Harry's children, or it passes onto Charlus."

"One of the reasons I had resisted my temptations to ask Ambassador Delacour," James said, "Doesn't matter anyway now. We found his Marked Mate. She'll probably be able to give him lots of children, including an heir and a spare, just like you have with me."

"Why, because she's Muggleborn?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow; she snickered when he spluttered. "Relax, I was joking."

"Our dear future daughter-in-law is barely Muggleborn," James said, "Technically she's Squib-born. What she is, is the Heiress of a House long thought to be extinct. Her son is the future Lord of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. By the time Harry and Hermione's second-born son - the future Lord Dagworth-Granger - is born, his house might be Ancient and Most Noble. I'll have to convince Harry and Hermione to Betroth the future Lord Dagworth-Granger to one of the future daughters of the Children of the Great Alliance, just to make sure Hermione's Legacy remains safe and in good hands."

"For Merlin's sake, James Potter!" Lily exclaimed. "You're talking about the future Betrothal of two children who won't probably exist for… a decade at least!"

"Lily, my dearest," James said, "I'm a Lord, and our eldest son will not only be the next Lord of my House, but the father of two future Lords of major Houses. These are things I am supposed to do. Especially since I'm also the inherited leader of the Great Alliance my father created. If my father was still around, he'd agree with everything I am doing. Hell, he'd be the one doing this. Especially since Hermione's from a House thought extinct."

"You don't even know our son's Marked Mate yet, James," Lily said. "I think you shouldn't worry about any of this until we meet her and her family. Imagine what she and her parents will even think about something like this."

"Your parents reacted pretty well," James said, grinning.

"My parents were just happy my Marked Mate wasn't Severus Snape," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "They were afraid he had met me, and told me I was a witch for that reason alone. They were relieved when they realized he didn't have a Mark."

James snorted, and smiled. "I always told you I liked your parents right from the start."

Lily shook her head, amused. James had always been jealous about how Severus Snape had been Lily's first friend. Severus had fancied Lily, and was extremely jealous when he discovered Lily had a Marked Mate, and that it was James Potter. Lily had recognized how toxic her friendship with Severus had become, once she and James became close during their first year at Hogwarts, while getting to know their Marked Mate. Suffice it to say, her three year friendship with Severus had ended halfway through their first year, when Severus had attempted to curse James.

Severus had been given a stern lecture by Professors McGonagall and Slughorn about what would have happened to both James and Lily had Severus cursed Lily's Mate badly. He had been given a detention for the entire year, and was closely watched throughout his entire education at Hogwarts, with the stern warning that if he did anything again to James or Lily, he'd be expelled. Oddly, the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, decided to avoid the entire drama, even though he was usually closely involved with security toward Marked Mates. He had let McGonagall and Slughorn take over the entire thing.

Somehow, Severus had gotten through his seven years at Hogwarts without being expelled or even suspended. James theorized that Albus Dumbledore had something to do with it. Lily had finally agreed with those theories when they learned Albus had named Severus the new Potions Master at Hogwarts, replacing Horace Slughorn during the summer of '82.

"Yes, well, we don't know if Miss Granger's parents will be like mine," Lily said. "For example, they had three years before Professor McGonagall visited my house to get used to the idea of me being a witch. Hermione and her parents have known for -"

"Less than a week," James said, nodding.

"And now they're about to find out their only daughter has a Soul-Mate," Lily said, "that, at eleven years of age, she's meeting the boy she's going to marry."

"Most students at Hogwarts are usually eleven when they meet the one they're going to marry," James said.

"That's not my point," Lily said. "She's destined to marry Harry. Instead of going through all the motions like unmarked people, who date and have break-ups and all of that drama, their daughter really has no choice about who she'll marry. Hermione might be okay with that, simply because she and Harry were always meant to be together. You know how it is - nobody besides Harry will ever feel right to her when it comes to romantic feelings."

"You're right," James said, "There was absolutely nobody else I even felt anything for, aside from you."

"Same goes for me - Hermione and Harry will soon realize that too," Lily said, "But her parents? They won't understand, not at first. They know nothing about Marked Mates, they'll probably find it horrifying that Hermione's been Marked since - well, probably the day Harry was born. They'll discover all of this just days after they find out their daughter is a witch. That's… it's going to be tough. We may have some difficulties with Hermione's parents. Hermione and Harry will probably have it much easier than we will with her parents and it is them who are the ones directly involved with this."

"Harry will definitely take it much easier," James said. "He's been waiting for this since… since he asked us about his Mark, after we told Rose about her and Eli. He'll help Hermione get through this. More than we, and her parents, can."

"Just like you and I did," Lily said, smiling. "If they're anything like us, they'll be best friends almost immediately. First kiss before Christmas. And then there's..."

"Sex," James asked.

"You think they'll have sex earlier than we did?" Lily asked, "Around the same time? Later?"

Lily and James had made love for the first time on Christmas Eve of their fourth year. Due to their Bond as Soul-Mates strengthening after their first time together, they had an active sex life after that. Sex between Marked Mates, even at a young age, wasn't considered a taboo. In fact, the first time the Marked Mates engaged in sex, whilst at Hogwarts, and their Bonds strengthened to the next stage, they were usually placed in "Private Married Quarters". While they weren't technically married at that stage, their sex life usually became active after their first time. So it was considered only proper they were moved into Private Married Quarters. James and Lily had moved into these Quarters starting right after Christmas Break in their fourth year.

"Depends on how quickly their bond forms," James said, "If there's ever an incident where one of them saves the other's life…"

"The bond might bring them to that stage," Lily said, nodding. "Didn't happen between us, though. We just… felt it was the right time. I hope that is what happens between them too, and Rose and Eli as well."

"We haven't actually given either of the twins the Talk yet, have we?" James asked, "Bollocks. We're going to have to do that soon."

"As long as they understand we're not encouraging them to do anything," Lily said.

"Obviously," James said.

"It is a good thing Rose and Eli are facing the same thing as Harry and Hermione," Lily said, "Otherwise, there would be some jealousy there when it came to Harry and Hermione spending too much time with each other, instead of with Rose and Eli, and vice-versa."

"True," James said, nodding. "So… after dinner then?"

"Agreed," Lily said, "When are you going to write back to Keeper Ragnok?"

"As soon as we're finished here," James said, "There'll be a few letters going back and forth before it is finally decided when the meeting will take place. So we won't know tonight when the meeting will be. We'll just tell Harry it will be soon."

"Right," Lily said, nodding.

"Wonder what Hermione's Mark looks like," James said.

"A Lion, obviously," Lily said, chuckling. "Harry's is a lioness. They're probably either mated Animagi, or have matching Patronuses."

"Or both," James said. "Like ours."

"Or both," Lily agreed. "I was rather angry when the doe turned out to be my Animagus and my Patronus. I wanted to be a Tiger Animagus so badly."

"I remember," James laughed. "I still say the same thing I did back then. It was just more inarguable proof that we're Mates, and were always fated to be. Even if we didn't have Marks, I'd say the same thing."

"I know," Lily said, smiling. "Me too. I love you, my Mate… even if you knocked me up after I forbid you to."

"I love you too, Lily, my doe whose always proved she was more fierce than a tiger," James said, "And I'm still not apologizing for that. Because you won't accept it. For two reasons. One, it takes two to tango. And two, you'll take it back once this little one is in your arms in the hospital."

Lily sighed, knowing her husband was right. It was one of his more annoying qualities… to be able to win a good portion of their arguments.

"Well, I better find out whether the nanny-elves are still in charge or the kids have taken over the Manor," she said, with a laugh. "I'll see you for dinner, if not sooner."

"Aye, see you then, love," James said.

Lily smiled, stood up with some difficulty due to her belly, and walked around the desk. James stood up, placed a hand on Lily's belly, and kissed her. After a good half-a-minute, Lily backed away. She smiled, when James bent down, lifted her shirt up and kissed her belly. When James sat back down, Lily walked out of the office.

Gods, she loved that man. Marked Mate or not, there would never have been another man for her. She was quite sure of that.

* * *

 **Saturday, September 22nd, 1990 - Potter Manor, Northampton - Evening**

Harry James Potter, Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, frowned as he stared at the Lioness Mark on his arm. He was half-focused on eating his meal, and wasn't even listening to his younger siblings as they babbled on to their parents about their 'adventures' they had gotten up to that day. In fact, it was like he was under water, while listening to them talking.

His mark had changed. He knew that for a fact. He thought he was seeing things earlier that afternoon. Harry glanced over at his sister's black panther Mark, which signified she was the Marked Mate of Elvendork 'Eli' Black. He realized something - her Mark had always been darker than his. That was, until earlier this afternoon...

"Dad?" Harry spoke up, suddenly.

James turned from Ivy, who he had been listening to. "Yes, Harry?"

"My Mark's gotten darker recently," Harry said, "I noticed it while I was swimming this afternoon."

The table got quiet after that. Rose looked shocked for a moment, before her expression turned to excitement, Iris looked thoughtful, and their other siblings looked a bit confused. Well, aside from the youngest two - the other set of twins - they just looked upset their mother wasn't paying attention to them now. Harry noticed his parents glance quickly at one another, obviously having a silent discussion, like they sometimes did. Harry wasn't sure if it was a parent thing or a Marked Mate thing.

James cleared his throat. "We'll discuss it after dinner, son."

"Alright," Harry said

And just like that, everything went back to how it had been before Harry had spoken up. Well, aside from Rose, who would glance at her twin, and smile, from time to time.

"What is it?" Harry whispered to his twin after the third time she did this in less than five minutes.

"I'm happy for you," Rose said, in a low voice as well.

"Er… what?" Harry asked.

"Until today, your Mark was faded more than mine was," Rose said, "Why? Mine's always been this way because Eli's always been close by."

Harry's mouth went dry. "You… you mean…?"

"You'll meet your Mate soon," Rose said, smiling, "Mum and Dad will likely talk to you about it after dinner. Might involve me in the meeting as well, since I'm Marked as well and know more about the subject than you do, since…"

"Since you've known your Mate since we were born," Harry muttered. "I know."

"Eli and I didn't know we were Mates until we were - what - six, seven?" Rose asked.

"Because we didn't know what our Marks meant until then," Harry said, "Until we were curious as to why our siblings didn't have one when we did."

"True," Rose said.

"Who do you think she is?" Harry asked.

"Could be a bloke," Rose teased; then sighed when Harry frowned. "Sorry, I know that's always been a titchy topic for you. She may be a foreign witch… or… she's Muggleborn, like Mum. Probably the latter. Which means she's joining us in Hogwarts next year. Recently she had her birthday - very recent, this month if she's going to be our classmate - and received her Hogwarts letter. She probably visited Gringotts recently as well.

"I don't know if she knows about her Mark - Mum told us about Marked Muggleborn, remember? Anyway, even if she doesn't know about it yet, Gringotts does. The Goblins saw through the Notice-Me-Not Charms - which cover a Muggleborn's Mark during their childhood. And they connected it to yours, through the Marked Mate Registry."

Rose - Harry had decided a long time ago - was infinitely smarter than he was. He considered himself an intelligent person, who was good at several subjects. But Rose was still much smarter than him. Well, except for dueling and Defense. It was his best subject, and he was better than Rose at that. She was a quick thinker, and really smart when it came to problem solving, tactical thinking and theorycraft. He knew she was likely right about her theory.

"I'll trust your judgement," Harry said, "We'll find out soon anyway."

Rose nodded, and smiled, then returned to her meal. Harry sighed and continued on his own meal, as he thought about what Rose had said. He wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of his Marked Mate being a Muggleborn. He had nothing against Muggleborn - his own mother was one, after all. Due to his mother having grown up in the Muggle society for the first several years of her life, his mother had been quite learned in the subject of the Muggle society. She had made sure her children grew up with 'a foot in both societies' as Lily Potter liked to call it. So, Harry knew a lot about how Muggles lived.

Hmm, he mused, That might, in fact, make it easier for me and this Muggleborn girl to get along. I'll know a lot about how the society she grew up and lived in. The society her parents live in. She'll know little about this society - even if she has read a few books about it before we meet - so I am sure she'll want to know all about the new society she's joining into. That would be a nice ice-breaker to begin our relationship with.

Most pureblood, and a good portion of half-blood, witches and wizards knew very little about Muggles and the Muggle society. This caused a lot of strife early on in friendships and relationships between Muggleborn and half-bloods/purebloods, whether they were Marked or not. Muggleborn, those who weren't Marked, usually only became good friends - or romantically involved - with other Muggleborn, or those Half-Bloods, who were well-learned of the Muggle society. Though Lily did tell her children that she probably would have fallen in love with James no matter whether or not they were Marked.

Thinking about all of this made Harry feel a little better. But even so, he still felt a little disconcerted about it. Back when he and Rose learned about their Marks, Harry had hoped his Marked Mate would be one of the friends he had grown up with, especially one of those in the group known as the Children of the Great Alliance. It turned out that nine of the Children of the Great Alliance were Marked. A little over half the number of Children in the group. Ironically… Harry was the odd one out.

Every single one of the Marked in the Children of the Great Alliance, aside from him, were Mated to one of the other Marked. Harry's twin sister, Rose, was Mated with his best friend, Elvendork "Eli" Black. Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbot were Mated. Terry Boot and Susan Bones were Mated. And Padma Patil was Mated to Ivan Blishwick.

Ivan, though only two months older than Padma and her twin sister, was one year ahead of his Mate at Hogwarts. He was currently in his first year at Hogwarts, simply because he was born in mid-August, right before the deadline for the '90-'91 First Year Class of students. Padma's birthday was in October, therefore she would begin as a First Year the following September.

Daphne Greengrass, another Child of the Great Alliance, had been quite upset when she heard Harry was Marked. She had hoped she might end up Betrothed and married to him one day. Harry had been quite shocked about that…

"I'm sorry, Daphne," seven year old Harry had said, "I had no idea you felt that way. I don't… er... "

"You don't feel anything for me that way," Daphne said, frowning, "I know. And you never will. It is rare for Marked Mates to be attracted to anyone else but their Mate."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, again; he was feeling very awkward.

"It is alright," Daphne said, "I'll find someone else. We're still friends, though, right?"

Harry had agreed with Daphne, and their friendship was still as solid after all this time. There was an understanding between the two friends, that they could still be friends, no matter how Daphne felt. She promised never to interfere in his relationship with his Marked Mate.

I'm going to have to write to Daphne first, before I write to my other friends, Harry decided, She needs to know I've found my Mate. Hopefully she won't be too displeased that it is a Muggleborn. Merlin, Harry, you don't even know who this girl is, and you're making decisions already. Wait until Mum and Dad tell you about her!

Dinner was soon followed by dessert, and when that was finished, James and Lily asked the third eldest Potter child, Iris, and Melina, the Head Potter House-Elf to escort the rest of the children to the nursery, while they talked to Harry and Rose.

"They're not in trouble are they?" Ivy, aged five, asked, with a cute little pout.

"No, sweetheart," Lily said, smiling. "We just need to talk to them about something. Go on, now, with your siblings and Melina."

Iris took Ivy's hand, and led her and Charlus out of the dining room. Melina, the House-Elf, held Siri and Dorea's hands and followed the others out.

"First off, I'm going to begin with this, before we say anything else," James said. "Harry, your Marked Mate has been found. It is a girl, her name is Hermione Granger, and she's a Muggleborn. She just turned eleven on the nineteenth of September."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, especially at the confirmation that his Marked Mate was a girl. He didn't have anything against men who were attracted to men, but he was happy to know he wasn't attracted to the same gender.

Hermione, Harry mused, What a beautiful name.

"I'm afraid we don't know too much about her yet," James continued. "This afternoon, I received post from our Account Manager, Keeper Ragnok The Sixth at Gringotts. Professor McGonagall visited the Grangers, the day of Hermione's birthday. The Grangers visited Diagon Alley earlier today, and went to Gringotts. While at Gringotts, the Goblins discovered Hermione had a Mark, but told neither her nor her parents about it yet. It was discovered that her Mark was a Lion."

"Mine is a Lioness," Harry said, looking at his Mark on his arm.

"Yes," James said. "Lion and Lioness. A Mated Pair. It is a confirmation that the two of you are Marked Mates."

"Do you remember what we told you about Marked Muggleborn?" Lily asked, "How their Marks are hidden, through enchantments cast upon them by Ministry representatives, after their first incident of accidental magic?"

Harry and Rose nodded.

"Gringotts doesn't tell Marked Muggleborn about their Marks," Lily said, "without consulting first with the Muggleborn's Marked Mate, and their family."

"Once Gringotts discovered who Hermione's Mate was," James said, "Keeper Ragnok took charge, and wrote to me. It turns out Hermione is a descendant of Hector Dagworth-Granger, the Founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, through his Squib Grandson. She is, in fact, the first magical descendant of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger in several generations. So she is the Heiress of the House of Dagworth-Granger. As such, Keeper Ragnok has taken over the Account of that House."

"That's pretty cool," Harry said, smiling; he had heard of the Society of Potioneers before, of course, his great-grandfather had been a member of it, and had invented several Potions still used to this day.

"Hermione knows nothing of her Legacy yet, nor her Mark," James said. "So earlier tonight, before dinner, I sent a letter to Keeper Ragnok, and asked him to invite Hermione and her parents to a meeting, so Keeper Ragnok can explain Hermione's legacy to them. Following that, he'll tell them about her Mark. I suggested the meeting be held next Saturday. Between now and then, we'll figure out a way to properly and politely meet with the Grangers, so you and your Marked Mate can meet, and we can discuss what will happen in the future."

Harry cleared his throat, which suddenly felt constricted. "Sounds… sounds good to me. You don't know anything else about her yet. What does she look like? Her interests? Anything?"

"Nothing yet," James said, then snorted. "We don't even know her parents' names yet, son."

"Ah, well, okay," Harry said, "Well, I'm excited to meet her… finally. Um… can I tell my friends anything about this yet?"

James and Lily looked at each other.

"I tell you what," James said. "Keep it quiet - even from the Children of the Great Alliance; and Rose, even from Eli - until next Sunday. Next Sunday, we'll be having a gathering here with the Great Alliance, and the Children. I hope we can have that meeting with the Grangers on Saturday, so we can announce this news the following day."

"Alright," Harry nodded, "I think we can do that."

"Yeah," Rose said. "I can do that for my brother, my twin - even if it means keeping this from Eli for another week."

"We're doing it out of respect for Hermione," Lily said, "Imagine if the news got out before Hermione found out about it?"

Harry winced. "Yeah, that would be bad."

"It definitely wouldn't be a good way to start off your relationship with her," Rose agreed.

Harry blushed. Even though he knew she meant it in an innocent way, the word 'relationship' meant a lot of things to him now. Over the past couple of years, he had watched as the Marked Mates in the Children of the Great Alliance - especially Rose and Eli - began to connect more and hang out together. Only as friends for now, of course. But all the Marked pairs were exploring what was the very beginning stages.

A couple of days after the combined birthday party for Rose, Harry, Eli Black, and Neville Longbottom's tenth birthday - Neville's birthday was July 30th, Harry and Roses was July 31st, and Eli Black's was August 1st - Rose admitted to Harry that Eli had kissed her during the birthday party.

Harry had tried to contemplate that for hours. Rose, his twin sister had her first kiss with her Marked Mate, before Harry had even discovered who his Marked Mate was!

Now, Harry would be meeting his own Mate in a week, if everything worked out well. He hoped he and Hermione could explore their new relationship - get to know each other, and hang out - enough before they began their first year at Hogwarts.

"I don't know yet, Harry," Lily said, when Harry voiced the last part, "I am sure she's currently in what will be her final year of Muggle education before she goes to Hogwarts. So during the week, she'll be quite busy with that. I am sure we can arrange it so you and Hermione can visit each other during a couple weekends a month. We'll see if Hermione wants to learn some stuff about magic and the magical society, and what it means to be a witch, before she goes to Hogwarts. That would give her a good reason to visit Potter Manor for a few hours on weekends."

"I'll think about giving you and Hermione a couple of Communication Mirrors," James said, "like I use sometimes with Uncles Sirius and Remus. So the two of you can talk to each other during the week. Probably only at night though, since she'll still be in Muggle school."

"If anything, by next summer when Hermione finishes her school education," Lily said, "You'll be able to hang out more often. By then, you'll probably know her a lot better, even if it is just communicating via mirrors."

Harry nodded. "How was it… with the two of you? This is pretty similar to when you found out you were a Marked pair, wasn't it?"

"Your mother and I didn't meet until July - a couple months before we started Hogwarts," James said. "That was when we finally had a meeting arranged between my parents and I, and your mother and her parents. It was at Gringotts, like ours will probably be with the Grangers. It was pretty awkward at first. However, one of the most memorable things about that day is this: one of the last things I heard Lily's mother say to her father before they left was: 'he's leagues better than that Snape boy.'"

Lily rolled her eyes, and Harry and Rose chuckled. Their parents had told them about Severus Snape.

"That was probably the best thing they said about your father that day," Lily said, sighing. "They were still completely shocked about everything they heard. How I basically already had a boyfriend, who was decided by Fate and Destiny. How I had 'no choice' of who my future husband would be. They weren't happy that an eleven year old boy they had just met had just basically 'claimed' me. How he was going to be my future husband, without taking the proper steps beforehand.

"I told my parents James and I had plenty of time to take those proper steps. What was even better was this: I wasn't going to have to go on several dates with different boys. I wouldn't have to deal with boys who weren't right for me… or have shoddy brief relationships with bad break-ups. I had already found the one who was basically the right boy, man and future husband for me. We could still hang out, date, and go through all that relationship stuff. We would just have a much better journey through it all, then we would have, had we not been Marked Mates."

"And that was exactly what happened," James said, "Okay, perhaps we were a bit more courageous, more sure of ourselves, and more confident about where the whole journey was headed. Because of that, and our Bond as Mates, the relationship might have gone a little faster that it would have."

"Not too fast, James," Lily said, "Actually it was a pretty proper, realistic timeline, similar to how any successful couple begins and goes through their journey. We just had the advantage of knowing we were perfect for each other. Don't get me wrong. We had our arguments and bad days."

"Oh, definitely," James agreed, grinning slyly at his wife, "But we made up… we always made up. And most of the time, the fights were brief. Sometimes we argued, so we could make up. Because sometimes making up is pretty fun, even if you have to sacrifice a few bad arguments and bad days to get to do it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage that. Arguing is inevitable, but it also isn't fun. Especially between Mated pairs. We Marked Mates feel more upset, and our emotions run higher, when we fight with our Mate. Because we're destined to be with each other for the rest of our lives. Why do we fight, when we know how we feel about one another? Why do we sometimes make each other unhappy, when we're always happiest when we're with our Mate?

"That's the trials we face, and you will face with your Mates throughout the next few years. But suffer through those times, my sweethearts, because you come out stronger, and your relationship with your Mate comes out stronger. And those rough times will seem minimal and small and unimportant compared to everything else you feel and experience with your Meets."

"Anyway, where were we before your mother decided to rant," James said, grinning when his wife scoffed at him, "Before we got to Hogwarts, well, back then, we didn't have mirrors to communicate with. We were pen-pals, sending letters back and forth. Suitably efficient, in some ways, but it didn't bring forth the same emotions of talking to each other. It wasn't enough. At all."

"No, it was not," Lily agreed. "Fast forward to the first of September. Severus Snape, you know about him - I was still friends with him, though not for much longer. He tried to monopolize my time on the Hogwarts Express. That only worked for about two hours, before I couldn't resist finding my Mate. So I left Severus, took my carry-on bag and searched for your father. I found him with your Uncle Sirius and Aunt Amelia, who, as you know, were also Marked Mates."

"Your mother was pretty upset that I didn't look for her," James said, grinning. "But once she found me, I introduced her to Sirius and Amelia, who knew some stuff about her, cause I told them. Then she told me she wanted to talk to me. I grabbed my carry-on bag, and we found a private compartment that was empty, and spent most of the train ride talking and getting to know each other better than we had with the letters. I also impressed your mother with some cool magic - a Notice-Me-Not Charm - which successfully kept away Snape, as well as Sirius and Amelia.

"It was amazing… but I wouldn't wish either of you any of that. To have to wait so long for your first long, proper conversation with your Marked Mate, your soul-mate, the one you were meant for, to be on that train? Nope. I've succeeded with Rose, of course. But Harry… you and Hermione won't experience the same things your Mother and I did. You have several months to get to know Hermione before you begin your first year at Hogwarts. We'll make sure you know her, and are as close to her, as you should be in the early stages of your Bond, before September 1st arrives next year."

"Definitely," Lily said. "I wish, back then, I was as lucky as Hermione will be. It would have helped in those early days."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I'm sure she'll appreciate it, and I definitely do."

"You deserve this, son," James said, "It was difficult watching you these past few years, as you watched your sister, and your best friend, and your other Marked friends, meet their Marked Mates, and get to know them. All while wondering where your Mate was. I probably feel as good as you do right now, knowing that my eldest son is about to meet his Mate, and the future Lady Potter."

"Agreed," Lily said, "Anything we can do to help you and Hermione begin this journey… we'll try to do our best to help."

"Thanks, Mum, Dad, you're the best," Harry said.

"Of course we are," James said, grinning. "Rose? How do you feel about all this?"

"Relieved," Rose said. "When Harry said his Mark had gotten darker, I could have cried right here, during dinner. I was so happy for you, Harry. Because I knew what that meant. My twin brother, my best friend, will finally get to meet his Marked Mate. He'll get to feel the same way I feel. Eli will be thrilled, I can tell you that. He won't have to hear me complain about how unfair it is that my brother doesn't get to be with his Marked Mate. I… I can't wait to meet her, Harry. I bet she'll be wonderful. Obviously she'll be perfect for you. Can't wait to meet the witch who qualifies as 'the perfect girl' for my brother."

"Yes, well, unfortunately, you won't get to meet her when your brother does," Lily said. "We don't want to crowd Hermione and her parents. We figure the day of the meeting, you and the rest of your siblings can hang out with Eli and that lot over at Black Manor."

Rose pouted. "Fine… but I want to meet my future sister-in-law as soon as possible. If she doesn't come over here first, I want to meet her the first time you talk to her via mirror, Harry. I mean it."

"I'll try to arrange it, Rosie, I promise," Harry said. "I am sure she'll want to meet all my family, especially my twin sister. However, you better not monopolize my time with her!"

"I promise," Rose said, sweetly. "But I want to hear all about her when we come home after your meeting! You and I will sit down and you'll tell me about her."

"I can do that," Harry said, smiling.

"Alright then," James said, "I think we're done here. I am sure your mother wants to go find your littlest sisters, and relax due to her pregnancy with your youngest brother. So this discussion is over. I'll let you know what I hear about the upcoming meeting, and the final details, Harry."

"Alright," Harry said, "Thanks, Dad."

And with that, the eldest Potter children and their parents left the dining room, and went off to do their own thing for a while before they went to sleep.


End file.
